


Life Goes On

by LadamaB, UnnecessaryEllipsis



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Autistic Hanzo Shimada, F/F, F/M, Fridge Horror, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Deadlock Characters, Mystery, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Survival, Survival Horror, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2019-09-02 17:15:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 153,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16791265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadamaB/pseuds/LadamaB, https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnnecessaryEllipsis/pseuds/UnnecessaryEllipsis
Summary: We thought we'd won.Omnics plagued humanity and threatened our survival with their own. We fought back, creating super soldiers, machines bigger than buildings, and brought together the best of the best. We fought, bled, and cried--but at the end of the day, we won. Right? Wrong. We were naive. The omnics had the last laugh and twenty years later, we're still scared of our shadows. We thought we'd won, we were wrong.[Started as NaNoWriMo 2018- Updates bi-weekly on Friday]





	1. Chapter 1

May 8, 2060

Ms. Amari says I oughta keep one of these, so here goes. Guess I should introduce myself first, in case anyone gives a shit. Not like there's many people left _to_ care but whatever. My name is Jesse McCree. At least, that's what I go by. My real name ain't anyone's business but my mama's 'n my own. Was born in a little town outside Santa Fe, New Mexico a little under 22 years ago.

I was 8 or 9 when the world went Skynet on us. Or so I figure. I was too busy helping my pops with the farm to remember it well. It started in Russia and didn't spread to the States for several months, maybe even a year. Besides all that, the nearest omnium was off the coast of Galveston and underwater to boot. After Galveston, the next nearest omnium was Detroit. No one in my area gave a damn. There wasn't anything here of interest so why would the omnics bother? There were two or three omnics in all of Santa Fe anyway, and there were enough guns down here that it didn't matter. Think Ole Man Carlos down the street took care of them to be honest. He never did like those things. Said they stole all the jobs.

As for the rest? We all figured the military could handle it. That was what they were for, right? And we kept figuring they could handle it, and went on about our lives like some Terminator bullshit wasn't popping up all over the world, until they couldn't handle it anymore. By that time though, they'd already started all these programs. Crusaders this, super soldiers that. Real cool shit, unless you're one of the kids that lost someone in all that nonsense.

We were wrong about it not making it down here. I lost my pops 'round 11 or 12, and we moved to Arizona on the rumor that it was safer. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but I was sick of sitting around. Started goin’ a little astray 'round… I guess 14.

Met this girl named Ashe. Didn't much like her at first. She had this omnic that followed her around and she was from one of those rich families. Could just tell by the way she looked at everything like it was already hers, but she was _smart_ and that omnic? Well he grew on me. Turns out Ashe rewired him or something cause he never once tried any funny business.

We met two other folks with enough brains and know how to really start making a difference around here. May not always been on the straight and narrow, but we kept people safe. At least… that's what I like to think. I don't think Ashe cared one way or another. Spent most of my teenage years with them, and I got real good at shooting omnics. Pretty sure I broke my mama's heart though. Still regret that. Maybe if I ever see her again, I can apologize. Tell her how good she was t’ me...

...I'm off-topic. Any way, we did a lot of running around the Southwest, making a living on people who needed protection. Kinda shitty, now that I look back on it, but hell, we needed to eat and keep our bikes running and people needed to stay safe. Sometimes we had to do some real illegal shit to make it work out, but those shot up military bases didn't need their guns. We just redistributed them to the folks that did. For a price of course. The locals round the hideout always got good deals though. Most of us figured we oughta protect our own. The war was getting nasty and lot of us were scared.

Then, they go and form that Overwatch strike team. I remember watching the news and laughing with the other guys about it. How they expected six people to do what several nation's armies couldn't was beyond us. So we just laughed. Joke was on us. Those six folks might as well have been an army. The tides turned quick. We were all convinced that the war was over and we'd won. Hell, technically, we did. That strike team shut down every omnium across the globe.

Problem was, no one expected omnics to make a virus. Not a human one anyway. While we were busy with Bastions and Idinas, the 'self-improving factories’ were getting smarter. What brainless motherfucker thought that making a factory that can learn and pump out souless automatons was a good fucking plan anyway!? What next? A sassy program that controls all of our military bases? Shit, I swear the smarter these scientist types get, the dumber they get.

Anyway, I’m off topic again. Reyes says I ramble too much and I guess he's right.

No one even noticed that people were disappearing ‘cause everyone was too busy killing siege bots and trying to survive. By the time all of us realized that we'd been played, it was already too late. The problem with crazy killer robots is they don't care about humane and inhumane. They don't care about morals or empathy or ethics. They care about getting the job done. And humans are squishy but tenacious sons of bitches. They knew we wouldn't give up. So they just outsmarted us. Made a virus as contagious as the flu and 100 times worse.

If you get infected, it's over. Starts as a cough here, sneeze there. Disguises itself as the flu or a cold, maybe allergies. Then, it gets worse. Fevers, shaking, delirium. Aggression kicks in and morals kick off. It was like rabies’ more fucked up cousin. Only thing you can do is put 'em down. When they shut all the omniums down? Turned out those sons of bitches had a backup plan. All the omniums turned the virus on us and those of us lucky enough to not get sick in the beginning, found out that robots could be as sadistic as any human being.

I found out about the virus on a run with Deadlock up to Utah. Me ‘n six others, two trucks and five bikes, were headed up to hit some of the armories up there cause we’d caught wind that they’d be easy pickin’s. What we didn’t know was that they weren’t empty. Shoulda figured it out when we pulled up near one of the bases and it wasn’t shot the hell up. We shoulda turned around right then and there, but news broadcasts had been sporadic, supplies had been running low and well, we figured maybe things would be alright. We figured wrong. Ole Paul busted through the gate and we pulled inside.

At some point, I got real nervous. Kept my keys in one hand, gun in the other. Rattler made fun of me for it but now I’m convinced it’s the only reason I’m still here. 

I started thinking I was hearing shit around us and on the roofs of the buildings we were emptying out, but Rattler kept telling me I was just freaking myself out. We were loading the trucks up when I started getting chills, like something was watching us. Same feeling ya get when ya hear coyotes nearby. There was also this...clicking sound that the others just blamed on faulty electricity. We didn't separate much except to leave Ole Paul by the trucks so no one driving by got any bright ideas, but Rattler got ahead of himself, like usual. He got excited when we hit the good stuff and started moving faster than the rest of us.

I stopped looking crazy when Rattler started cussing and shooting in the next building over. Then he started screaming. Ole Paul started shooting next, then cussing, then screaming. Let me tell you something. I have heard men beg for their lives. I've heard people die horrible and painful deaths and nothing compared to those screams.

The rest of us didn't separate. The new kid, Jake or something like that, practically glued himself to me. Guess he figured I either had enough sense or meanness in me to get us out. It was the only thing that got figured right that day.

By the time we got back to the trucks, Ole Paul was gone. At least most of him. Something decided to leave his arm by the blood-splattered backend of the truck. Most of us had fought enough omnics blowing bits off folks that we barely budged. Jake threw up. That almost got me.

We didn't know if the omnics had gotten quieter or if we were dealing with wild animals but I sure didn't want to find out. Started loading my bike in one of the trucks and Jake followed my lead. Billy loaded up Rattler's bike along with 'em cause we let nothing go to waste. Specially not a state away from home. He took the other truck, I took the first 'n Jake hopped in with me. He wasn't much younger than me but boy was he scared. Hell, so was I. Kept my hand on my gun the whole time. Nuñez and his brother Ricky decided to ride their bikes, leading out ahead. At the gates we got a good look at what'd gotten a hold of Paul and Rattler.

They looked like the base's staff, dressed in uniforms but they were dirty and some were soaked in blood. Mouths, hands, clothes. Just… everywhere. They shuffled and kinda twitched, like the whole base had turned into meth heads. Somethin’ made them get real still though, and then they crowded together and bared their teeth. Ricky and Nuñez slowed down, let the trucks go first but it turns out that wasn't a great plan either.

Billy's truck hit first, got through and then lost control and wound up in a ditch. Hitting a crowd of folks tends to do that. What was left of the crowd swarmed the truck. Shit, I almost threw up when they dragged Billy out of there, all bloodied from hitting the steering wheel, and started tearing into him. Fucking eating him alive. Really put Rattler's and Paul's screams into perspective.

I floored it and didn't look back until the truck gave out. It was always kinda old and rickety. Billy smashed the better one. I don't know what happened to Ricky and Nuñez.

Me and Jake or... maybe it was Jim. I know it was a ‘J’ cause we both kept making jokes about it to forget what we saw. It didn't work… obviously.

Anyways, I'm gonna call 'im Jake. Me and Jake hauled our bikes out, loaded up our guns, our saddlebags and hell, even backpacks up with supplies and started driving home. Somewhere along the way, I took a wrong turn. Missed an exit. Something. Got all turned around. We ended up running out of gas somewhere 'round Sego but not before grabbing the locals’ attention. We managed to outrun them with some supplies. Mostly electrolyte drink mixes and what was in our backpacks. Hated leaving my bike like that. Maybe it's still there. Probably all rusted out after this long though.

We found out the hard way that Utah gets colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra come winter. But both of us agreed that the cold was better than the locals so we kept our heads down, fires out and got real familiar. I think we both knew we weren't getting back though, cause we never put much effort in trying to.

Funny enough, it wasn't the locals or the cold or nothing like that that got Jake. It was a goddamn scorpion. He forgot to shake out his boots one mornin’ and turns out the kid was allergic. Shit, you wanna talk about a bad way to go. I think I'd rank that shit second behind 'ripped apart and eaten alive.’ Did right by 'im and found a nice little crevice, filled it in as best I could and covered it with rocks. He wasn't a bad kid. Kinda miss him.

At some point, I ended up wandering closer to the Colorado line, somewhere around spring, I guess. Stocked up on what edible shit the good earth had to offer, got myself right, hell, even found a place to camp and light fires where the locals didn't bother trying to chew my face off. Figured that trying to walk home didn't make much sense so I made the best of it all. Couple years passed before it was safe to go raiding towns but I found out I wasn't the only one with that plan. Some of the locals hadn't gone off the deep end, at least not to the point of trying to eat folks. I think maybe those that didn't were worse.

Now, ya mighta noticed that I mentioned Ms. Amari and Reyes up there and yeah, I mean _that_ Reyes and Amari. I was coming back from a supply run when these jokers pull up in an honest t’ God military truck. Actually, that's not the right idea.

Instead, picture a deuce 'n a half barreling down the road like the devil was fuckin’ chasin’ it. Blows past me as I'm sitting out and resting my feet, slams on the brakes, and skids to a damn stop. I swore that bitch was gonna flip. I also expected a bunch of raiders to swarm out the back 'n had my hand on my gun just in case.

But no.

Jack gets out first. Looks at me like he'd seen a ghost and it occurs to me that I know that face, and the other two that get out behind him. It also occurs to me that robbing these guys blind probably is a bad idea and would get my ass shot.

Instead, I figured I oughta make the best of this situation. So I take my hand off where my gun was hiding and just wait. Had t' laugh when I overheard Reyes betting Jack a bottle of tequila that I wasn't the poor lost kid that Jack thought I was. Ironically, I had a bottle of tequila on me for trading.

Now Ms. Amari, she was watching my ass like a hawk the entire time Reyes and Jack were going back and forth. She tells me later that sitting there, I'd postured up like a scared kid but in my eyes I looked like a snake. I laughed and told her I'd been considering playing all three of 'em and taking that truck back home to Arizona. Don't think she liked that much.

I didn't end up playing 'em though. I ended myself up here in Grand Mesa helping 'em out. Sure was better than sleeping outside with the infected wandering around.

Been here a year or so, and the outside world has only gotten worse. There's a lot more of those things wandering around. Reyes says we oughta call 'em zombies but I keep reminding him that zombies are undead and these things? There ain't nothin’ dead about em. They're just...I dunno. They look like people, 'n act like a pack of wolves.

Reyes and Ms. Amari seem impressed by my shooting, but Ms. Amari says I don't think enough. Need to get head in the game or I'll end up dead. I keep reminding her I was the only one that survived that trip to Utah and that I'd done just fine without them. She keeps reminding me where the door is. Jack keeps… Jack is an asshole and I don't see how anyone could sit around and call him a hero.

Guess this has gone on long enough… Don't really feel like writing anymore and well, maybe if I live long enough, you'll have more pages to read. Sounds like they're gearing up to head out. Maybe we'll hit something good.

-J. McCree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Lets do a fic in a single month' she says.
> 
> Yeah, this thing still isn't done and we're 100k in. That's what you get when two wordy writers collab. 
> 
> ~Ladie


	2. Chapter 2

“Where the hell did that thing get in?”

Jack swept his eyes back and forth against the fence line and squinted at each and every stray bush that had sprung up along its perimeter. They’d had a close call last night; one of the infected got in and tore through their chicken coop--which had to be completely disposed of--and then had nearly found it’s way inside the inner walls to the living barracks before Gabe put it down. There had to be _somewhere_ it had gotten in. In his experience, they weren’t smart enough to find their way through the front gate. Jack walked forward a bit more and started to poke around the edges of where they’d had to scrape together a makeshift section of fencing since it had been cut by would-be plunderers so many times that it couldn’t be put back together. The whole thing seemed pretty intact.

“I dunno, sir.” Brigitte mused, wiping the sweat off her brow. Colorado got cold as balls at night and in the winter but at solar noon, the sun was still unbearable. Regardless, this was when the light was best to look for a gap in the fence. They needed to be able to see and batteries were scarce. At least the common ones. “I haven’t seen anything and we’ve made this lap three times.”

He turned to look at the resident mechanic, just another one of the kids as far as he was concerned. “There _has_ to be a gap around here somewhere, Brigitte. A zombie doesn’t just _slip in.”_ He refused to entertain the notion that it might have come through the front gate. That gate had been shut and locked before and _after_ they’d found it. Zombies could be smart enough to group up into packs but opening and then closing the door behind themselves? Ridiculous. There was a gap in this fence somewhere and monsters could get in and fuck with his kids; Jack was going to keep making laps till he found it.

“What if someone let it in?” Fareeha added, glancing at the gate. “Jess hasn’t exactly made friends around here.”

Jack’s expression was very clearly unamused. “Jesse’s a good kid, he wouldn’t do that.”

“I _know_ he wouldn’t,” Fareeha groaned. “I’m saying the raiders hate him and might try to let something in while we were sleeping.”

Well _that_ left a whole pile of problems Jack didn’t want to consider. The chance that someone out there was smart enough to get close enough to a zombie to muzzle it? He didn’t like that in the least. “The solution that requires the least amount of assumptions is usually the right one, kiddo. There’s a hole in this wall somewhere.”

“Somebody could have forgotten to shut it?” Brigitte offered, lifting her large hammer and causing it to arc up and over to land on her shoulder. Jack winced just watching it but she seemed to barely notice the impact.

“It was closed when I went to check after we found the thing. Forgotten to shut it and then shut it after the zombie got in?” Jack asked, raising a blond eyebrow that had been so bleached by the sun it barely showed on his tanned face.

Brigitte rubbed the freckles on her nose and then gave a heavy shrug. “I dunno.” None of it made sense, none of it. The only thing that made any sense was that it’d found a hole somewhere along the fence line and had slipped in that way but they hadn’t found anywhere for something as large as an adult zombie to get in.

“I think it’s more likely that they were chasin’ those boys we just picked up,” Jack frowned, crossing his arms. The jury was still out on the pair of brothers. Last time they picked up a new kid, they’d lost several members of their camp. The Shimada brothers might not have let it in, though. It could have just been chasing them and slipped in through the _hole_ they _had to have around here somewhere._

She her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh as she started stomping her way down the fencing again. The thing with Jack was, if he had a choice then he would pick the route that assumed the least amount of people were out to get them. Gabe tended to pick whichever one seemed like the most people were out to get them. Between the pair of them, and Fareeha’s mother, Ana, to split the difference, it’d kept the whole group alive for a very long time. Tenacity was what Jack did best.

“There’s no hole in the fence, Jack.” Fareeha groaned with a roll of her eyes, “I’d believe if we’d found one but there are _none_. We can search the fence a hundred times, it won’t change facts.”

The older man’s blue eyes, even more starkly pale against his sun-weathered face, turned on her and narrowed. “That wasn’t a question, Amari. There _is_ a hole in this fence somewhere and we _are_ going to find it. Understood?”

Brigitte hated it when Jack went all drill sergeant on them. Sure, at some point in his long life he’d actually been in the military. So had everyone, that’s why this group was together--they’d been stationed on this base when everything hit the fan--but they weren’t military _any more._ “This is stupid, Jack. If you find a hole, I’ll be more than happy to fix it but…” She chewed her lip and glanced back at Fareeha, “I don’t think we’re going to find one.”

The older male squared his shoulders and clenched his fists before turning on his heel and throwing a hand up before dragging it through his silver hair. “I’ll find it. You...go help your mother or something.” He called, sick of them both at this point. There _was_ a hole in this wall and Jack Morrison was determined to find it.

Brigitte rolled her eyes, rubbing a hand down her face. There was really no arguing with Jack once he’d made up his mind so the best they could do right now was just to turn and leave. “Come on, Fareeha.” She sighed and turned to start up the hill that lead to the actual barrier wall surrounding Watchpoint: Grand Mesa. The fence was only the outermost protective layer of this onion structure and while she could understand why someone as tactically minded as Jack would be worried about it, there was an entire other wall they could hide behind!

She began to truck her way up the hill, past rows of tomatoes growing against sticks hammered into the ground and her mother’s climbing pea plants before angling herself toward the actual entry gate. They did most of their agriculture out here as inside was almost all cement.

Off to the side, away from the tomatoes and peas sat other rows, diligently cared for. A small row of apple trees separated those rows from the rest of the crops. It was a motley patch, potatoes, cabbage and lettuce growing near peppers and down one of the long sides of the plot, rose bushes.

A little bit of rowdy shouting brought Fareeha’s attention over to where Jesse was coming back from one of his long trips out into the world. The boy had wanderlust like no one she had ever seen, and Fareeha suspected the only reason he came back was because his mother was here. That, and Jesse was _obnoxiously_ head over heels for the older Shimada brother. It was funny because Jesse had just come back from a long trip when he first met Hanzo too. Jesse always bragged about how Hanzo had killed some raider on his ass by shooting right past him.

“Hey, Jess is back. Let’s go help him instead.” Helping Jesse unpack seemed a lot more fun than going and cooking. Besides… Jesse usually came back with fun goodies and anyone that helped him usually got first pick.

“Oooh!” Brigitte clapped her hands together and started to stride toward him and his horse with some pep in her step. He always had the _good_ stuff when he came back. “You think he’s found any more candy?”

“Probably not… well, unless he found some hard candy in a bunker somewhere.” Jesse was good at finding things, particularly things like military bunkers. Fareeha swore the man had a map of the lower United States and anything worth anything burned into his head. He wasn’t much for company, usually, but when it came to bringing home things that made life a little more bearable, he was king. 

“I hope so.” Brigitte chimed, carefully approaching the horse and watching Jesse. His bags looked full and that was always a good sign. “Jesse! How was your trip?”

“Gettin’ harder t’ find places that ain’t been picked over…” he drawled, starting to uncinch the packs. “Which means I may have to go out farther, but, I did find a warehouse I can hit a couple times. The lock was pretty hard t’ get open but now I remember how to get it open and we can load up.” He grunted as he pulled on the straps, “Might see if I can convince Jack to let me borrow the deuce.”

“If you do go again, can I go with you?” Brigitte asked with a bright smile, holding her arms out to accept whatever he wanted for her to carry.

“Sure,” he chuckled, passing a pack off to Brigitte. “If yer momma’ll let ya go, I got no problem with it.” The warehouse had been filled mostly with medical supplies that had been packaged to survive decades. The supplies had been sealed in airtight packages, not unlike an MRE. He couldn’t grab the buckets, but he could grab the individual packs. “I looked for sweets, darlin’. No luck. S’all medical.”

“Awh,” Brig’s smile drooped a little bit but she perked right back up. Medicine meant that she didn’t have to curl up in a bed once a month in pain. That was just as good as candy, as far as she cared--maybe even better.

He chuckled as he rubbed down Kaspar's neck and cooed gently. “There's more if I can take the deuce, but that'll take up a least a few gallons of our biodiesel. Not sure how much Jack'll agree t’ that.” It took a lot of biodiesel to get them through the winter, and so did taking the deuce out. Those few gallons were precious, even if they were able to make a lot of diesel.

“He might…” Brigitte shrugged, smiling widely at him. “I hope he does. It’ll be valuable to have more medicine.”

“There’s some real good shit in there, too. Burn kits, trauma kits… I just can’t put a five gallon bucket on Kaspar.” He chuckled, “I think he’d bite me for tryin’.”

Brigitte laughed, tentatively reaching out to pat the large horse on the side and then shrug. “Kaspar is a good horse, let’s not overburden him.” She smiled. “If you want, I can ask Jack for you?”

“Eh,” Jesse shrugged, “I opened one of the buckets up t’ bring back proof, I think I might be able t’ convince him.” Jack was stubborn, but not stupid. Multiple five gallon buckets full of medical supplies would be worth the biodiesel, and the buckets were an added bonus. Five gallon buckets that could be sealed against the elements? That alone was worth the trip. At least, so Jesse figured.

“Well, if you need help from the ‘face’,” She bat her eyelashes at him and clasped her hands tightly with a pout, “Just let me know.”

“I’ll come get ya if he’s bein’ _extra stubborn_ , but I don’t think it’ll be an issue. Those buckets _alone_ would do us a world of good.”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear--apparently it worked with his spouse too. Jack was finally coming back from the fence with a frown on his face and the tools for fixing it unused under one arm and when he caught them talking about something, he could almost tell that he was being mentioned somehow. ‘Stubborn’ was so synonymous with ‘Jack’ that he almost answered to it when called. “What’re you talking about? Buckets?”

“Well, sorta.” Jesse shrugged, digging out a trauma kit that he’d pulled from the bucket. “Found one of those ol’ survival places… only this one made medical stuff. No one could get into that lock… well, no one before me, of course.”

Jack wasn’t having any of it. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, “Are you trying to make a point here or do you just want me to stand in awe? Because if you’re waiting on the second, we’ll be here all week.”

“A week? Yer flatterin’ me old man, it used t’ be next century.”

“I’m goin’ soft, its your momma’s food.”

“Yeah,” Jesse looked down at his stomach, which was always fighting a losing battle against tamales, “It does that. Point being, I found a huge medical warehouse with stuff like this,” He handed over the kit, “In five gallon buckets. I can’t put buckets on Kaspar, but if we take the duece,” He shrugged, “Could be worth the diesel.”

Jack turned the kit over in his hands and hummed, little more than a ‘hm’ noise but then nodded. “Whenever you think Kaspar’s up to it.”

\---

That truck was the biggest vehicle he’d seen since the fall of humanity and Hanzo wasn’t sure how they were planning to get it out to wherever they were going. The archer stood with his nose barely poking over the hood of the huge behemoth and inhaled to get his bearings. This would be his, and Genji’s since he refused to leave him behind, first mission and he didn’t know what to expect.

They’d barely stayed on base. They’d only been here a month and a half but the cowboy and he got along well enough to make up for how little he got along with Jack… but now it was all hands on deck and everyone with available arms under the age of Ana was going along with. He didn’t know how old Ana was but she and the other older women seemed to be the cut-off for this expedition. Jack, Gabe, Brigitte and Fareeha had all squeezed into the front, though Brig had nearly had to sit on Fareeha’s lap to do it. The rest of the group had to get stuck in the back.

Jesse was leading on a beautiful horse that Hanzo was fascinated by. It let him pet it, which had ended with the archer madly in love with this horse. He pulled himself up in the back of the truck, sighing as he tried to get comfortable in the hard steel bed.

Jesse had made sure to prep Kaspar for another trip over the next week. He wasn’t worried about anyone getting into the warehouse because he’d locked it back up and made sure no one could get in _except_ him. He knew his horse could make the trip, but he had to keep that up on a daily basis and he hated asking long trips of the faithful Appaloosa gelding without a good ‘rest’. Rest still included daily rides, but that horse could go a hundred miles without worry.

  
As he swung himself up into the saddle that Jack had brought back to him so long ago, he rubbed Kaspar’s black and white mottled neck. Kaspar was an odd looking horse, by most people’s standards anyway, but Jesse loved him all the same. Somedays, it still blew Jesse’s mind that Jack had cleared out one of the old garages to turn into a barn without a single hesitation and then had gone and gotten him a saddle for his strange, mottled horse.

He led Kaspar around front of the old deuce and a half that had once gone barreling past him somewhere along the Utah-Colorado line and skidded to a stop to pick him up, chuckling as Kaspar’s skin barely twitched when the truck roared to life. Jesse cooed at him anyway, patting his neck and telling him how good he was. It’d still likely take a few minutes for the old deuce to warm up, and so Jesse paced Kaspar around just to keep him moving.

“Kid!” Jack called, leaning out the window once the diesel had warmed up and giving him a wave. With biodiesel, the truck needed a little longer to get up and moving than with the old stuff that it used to run but once it was chugging, it ran like a champ. “Lets get going!” He called, clutching before throwing the truck into gear and beginning to roll toward the gate Ana was holding open.

Jesse frowned gently at the ‘kid’. He had a name _and_ he wasn’t a kid. He hadn’t been a kid even when he first met Jack. With a roll of his eyes he turned Kaspar back to the truck, barely touching the reins to do so. He didn’t need them except in the event that he had to tie one hand to the saddle horn to keep from falling off from exhaustion. Kaspar covered the distance with ease, his natural walk smooth and fast. Jesse had never ridden a horse like him and likely never would again. It was a pity someone had gelded him before Jesse had found him.

He coaxed Kaspar into a trot, forever marveling at how smooth the horse moved and slowed next to Jack's window, yelling over the sound of the diesel. “It ain't far, maybe twenty miles? Found it on the way back! I can’t run Kaspar at a gallop, but he can go forever at a trot, maybe a canter if we’re not on an uphill! Won’t be fast, but shouldn’t take all day to get there.” 

“That’s fine!” Jack called back, waving a hand for Jesse to head out first. “You get us there, I can drive back--”

“I can do that!” Another light touch to the reins and a gentle nudge forward and Kaspar was off. Jesse had to get a headstart on the truck, since he moved slower on Kaspar than it did. Lucky for him, Kaspar was faster than Bertha, Jack’s old mare. Jesse didn’t know what the gait was called, but Kaspar just _moved_ differently. As he headed up along the side of the road, he occasionally looked back to see when Jack would start moving. The road up to the base was long enough that even when Jesse had reached the end, he could still see the front gate. It was good in times like these and for visibility when they were getting attacked, but also sucked because _everyone_ could see them. He took a left turn at the end of the road, knowing that Jack would be able to see him do it.

For his part, Jack was gentle on the throttle. He let the slope of the hill take the truck and coast along behind Jesse until he absolutely had to put it in gear and when he did, it was only ever second. He didn’t seem to have anywhere he was looking to be in a hurry, just enjoying the wind coming in the open window and the ability to hold his husband’s hand in between gear changes.

“Do you want to stay here?” In the back of the truck, it was hard to tell exactly how long this trip would take but Hanzo watched the base vanishing behind them anxiously. He and Genji had never been out on a supply run before and he didn’t know if he liked the fact that they wanted them along or hated it.

“What do you mean?” Genji looked up from where he’d been staring out the back of the truck.

“I--” Hanzo’s lips twisted nervously before he turned back around and curled his knees to his chest. “Do you think they’re gonna let us stay till harvest?”

“Well, they gave us a pretty permanent room…” Genji shrugged. “They put us with everyone else and they gave us a pretty nice bed…”

“Yeah, _one.”_ Hanzo snorted through his nose before looking away so that his mouth was covered by his hand. He always tried to keep his worries from Genji but this one kept spilling through the cracks because it constantly ate at him.

“Look how often McCree goes out though, maybe they just weren’t prepared to have new arrivals, I mean… Everyone here seems like they’ve been here a _really_ long time.” Genji shrugged, “They can’t dislike us too much.”

Hanzo looked up with an odd expression. It didn’t give away much, but it wasn’t relieved. He shook his head, shifting around so that he was sitting beside his little brother. The older sat there for a second before falling to lean on Genji with a huff. “I still don’t know about this place.”

“I’m sure they’re just not used to having new people around, I mean, look at how McCree responded when he first met us… I think something happened before us.”

The oldest let his eyebrows furrow slightly, lips tilting up then down and finally ended up huffing out a hard sigh and closing his eyes. “I’ll just take your word for it.”

“When we first got here, a lot of them acted like… like someone had hurt them before. They stayed in groups or pairs, but a lot of them are starting to thin out. I really think someone hurt them before us, and they’re just scared to lose more family.” Genji wrapped his arm around Hanzo, “We can always leave later if I’m wrong, right?”

The oldest nodded lamely, looking miserable but slightly _less_ miserable than before. A hug was sometimes all it took to pull him loose of a nasty funk.“I like the cowboy though. He’s nice. His mother is nice.”

“I like his mom.” Genji admitted, “I don’t think McCree likes me.”

“Have you talked to him?” Hanzo opened his eyes and turned to watch Genji’s face when he spoke. “He and I talked about guns and he didn’t seem to dislike me--” The older stopped and looked back at his feet while chewing on his bottom lip. “Or maybe he did and I just didn’t know.”

“Oh no, he likes you.” Genji reassured, snorting a little. “He’s just… standoffish? I don’t know. He forces a lot of interactions with… well I mean I’ve seen him do it with other people. He has this one particular… smile he does and it's just… I don’t know how no one else notices that its _fake_.”

Hanzo reached down to the truck bed and picked up a small piece of gravel to turn it in his fingers. “What does it look like?” He asked softly. He wanted to know if his favorite conversation partner was only pretending to like him.

Genji raked his fingers through his hair, “He pulls his mouth to one side and only one of his eyes does that squinty thing? And like he doesn’t show his teeth when he does it.”

“Doesn’t… show his teeth?” Hanzo asked and wracked his brain back to when he was talking to Jesse. He always smiled with his teeth. “I… does he always do it?” Was he just missing it?

“Doesn’t show his teeth,” Genji confirmed, and then tried his best to imitate the smile, pursing his lips together a little like the cowboy tended to and then snorted and started laughing, “I can’t. I can’t even do it. McCree’s real superpower has to be keeping a straight face while he smiles like that.”

Hanzo frowned and poked him right in that stupid dimple. “Be serious!” The older whined, poking him a few more times. _“Wakarimasen…”_

“Me? Be serious? When?” Genji snapped his teeth at his brother’s finger and then shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile that way at you but watch him when he talks to Jack. He does it _a lot_ with Jack. I… I think he’s trying to be polite or something but it’s just _so fake_.”

The mention of Jack made Hanzo frown and turn back around, returning his position of half-slumped onto his younger brother. “Nevermind, I have seen it. It is fake.” He didn’t realize it, at the time he’d seen it, but the smile had struck him as odd. Genji was better at catching nuances, though--at least in Americans.

“He does it less with me than with Jack, but I’ve tried to talk to him while he was working on his garden or whatever and he just… won’t talk to me like he will with you. He’s quiet and does that weird half-smile.”

“...huh.” Hanzo had picked that up from the cowboy. Soft noises of interest or confusion had always been a calling card for the older brother but ‘huh’ was a new addition. “Do you think we’ll be there soon?”

“I don’t even know where we’re going.” Genji scratched at the short hair on the back of his neck, “I think McCree said it was like… twenty miles? I don’t know how far that is though… Do you remember how many kilometers a mile is?”

“One point six...ish?” Hanzo couldn’t remember anything past that. It’d been a long time since he’d learned this. “Twenty is.. That’s eighteen and.. Carry the one.. Just over thirty two kilometers.”

Genji shook his head, “I will never understand how you do that.”

“Do… what? Multiply?” The older looked confused, shifting around on the hard truck bed, almost headbutting Genji as he did and ended with his back up against the younger and crossing his arms. They were moving so slow that he didn’t have to worry about falling over.

“Multiply weird numbers in your head!”

“Just multiply sixteen by twenty and remember to shift your decimal.” Hanzo snorted, closing his eyes with a yawn. Jack had called them from their training and he was getting rather fond of his after-workout nap. “It’s not hard.”

“Wh-” Genji stared at his brother as if he’d grown a second head, “ _Just_ multiply sixteen by twenty?”

“Or twenty by sixteen. Either works.”

Genji groaned and shoved Hanzo. “ _Shut. Up.”_

Hanzo lost his composure and started laughing, holding a hand over his head just in case that earned him more elder abuse. He _knew_ Genji was bad at math--hell, the younger used him as a calculator most days--but it was nice to rub his nose in it every once in a while.

To his credit, Genji didn’t hit him… but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t get Hanzo back for it later.

When it became apparent that Genji wouldn’t actually come for his revenge _yet,_ Hanzo got comfortable again and closed his eyes. A few minutes wouldn’t hurt anything--

\--but it never was a few minutes, was it? Before he knew it, Genji was shaking him awake and Jack was outside barking orders. “Up and attem, boys.” Jack grumbled into the back while he pulled a flashlight from the small toolbox that had been tied inside with them. “Time to earn your keep.” The man tossed a different flashlight at Genji. Hanzo frowned because he never got anything nice like that. Out here, a flashlight wasn’t something you gave to someone you didn’t like.

Genji looked down at the flashlight in his hand and then sighed softly. McCree was dismounting from Kaspar, patting him and cooing like he always did. Every now and again, Genji picked up a word of encouragement or a ‘thank you’. He was wearing that toothy grin that meant he was _actually_ smiling, but then again, McCree always smiled at that horse. Genji always thought Kaspar’s white-rimmed eyes were weird. McCree gave Kaspar a final pat and pulled the bridle off before hanging it on a stray nail sticking out of the wall. Kaspar opened and closed his mouth a few times before ambling over to a small patch of grass to graze while the rest of them got started on trying to load up the truck.

“You two,” Jack said as he pointed to the Shimada brothers, “Get to the back of the warehouse and start with the foreign unpackaged goods.”

Hanzo stood there with his eyes wide and then bowed. _“Sumimasen--”_

Jack let out an aggravated sigh. “Genji,” He changed to the brother he knew could understand him. “This warehouse made and shipped emergency kits.” He pointed to the rundown sign out front. “But they have a lot of packaged goods in the back to _make_ those kits and they’re not in English. You said your brother spoke lots of languages? Maybe he can help us sort them so we don’t have to open every box.”

Genji nodded at Jack and then turned to parrot the words back to Hanzo, translating for him. Although it was likely that if someone else, say Jesse, had told Hanzo the same thing that Hanzo probably would have understood, Jack had a way of making his brother freeze up which made communication only that much harder.

 _“Hai,”_ Hanzo nodded, bowing toward Jack again before walking as quickly as he could without looking like he was running _from_ the man. At least this way he could be helpful and stay away from Jack.

Genji watched his brother for a second and then turned back to Jack and offering a slight smile at the bewildered expression on the older man’s face, “You talk too fast and too loud. It’s like when you make a really sudden noise in the shop and Bertha runs off.” He hoped Jack understood, it made sense to him at least.

“So,” It seemed so out of character from the kid Jesse described as _shooting a raider_ at point blank range fearlessly to save his life that Jack had trouble processing it. “I… _spook_ the _ninja?”_

“Shanking people is easier than talking to them apparently.” Genji shrugged.

“Mood,” Jack admitted, even if it wasn’t very loud. He understood that sentiment better than he’d like to admit.

“I wouldn’t take it personally, Hanzo’s just… Hanzo.”

“That--” Jack made a frustrated nose but nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”

Genji shrugged and then turned to go help his brother. “I’ll let you know if we find anything good!”

Jack stood there for a moment and then looked over at Gabe before shaking his head and wandered into the main door so he could start carrying the stuff Brigitte was picking out back to the truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. We both decided that we wanted to do this awesome Zombie AU because we both love the survival aspect and survival horror can be super fun to write! Write the content you want to see, right? Except that we both got busy, me with working on extra OMaM chapters to keep my buffer nice and cushy while I left it alone to write this with Ladie and her with various projects and life things. A week and a half into November and we're like oh shit we should work on that. Between my changing schedule and stuff though, it was probably closer to two weeks before we got our heads into the game. We were like 20k words behind and managed to not only catch up but meet the 100k count a day early.


	3. Chapter 3

Summer was the only time of year that Jesse _liked_ in Colorado. Summer was good and hot, just like Jesse liked. Spring brought airborne death in the form of good old-fashioned plant pollen, and to add insult to injury, it was _cold_ . It was _always_ cold. Winter, spring, fall... you name it, it was too cold for Jesse. He stretched out in the pasture, splayed out like a starfish in the sun. Every now and again, his workaholic nature settled for long enough that he could go relax somewhere. Usually that somewhere was the pasture.

 _“Kasper-san!”_ A voice called from the nearby fence, trying to catch the attention of the horse within that was grazing inside. The voice was clearly one of the Shimada brothers by the way it greeted Kasper, but the subsequent soft coos as a carrot was offered made it obvious that it was Hanzo. Genji was never so quiet.

Jesse peeked an eye open as Kaspar went trotting off towards Hanzo, happily nickering all the way there. In the seven years he’d been raising Kaspar, the silly thing had either tossed anyone who tried to ride him or rooted his feet to the ground and refused to budge. He tolerated Thyr with all the patience of an old farm pony, but still wouldn’t move, even if Jesse tried to lead him. Hanzo? Hanzo had hopped on like he’d ridden all his life and Kaspar had taken to him like a fly to honey. It was the damnedest thing.

It was quiet over there for a while, whatever Hanzo was doing wasn’t making any noise and Kaspar hadn’t left him. The wind blew gently over the plains and then the sound of laughter before Hanzo raced past riding bareback on Kaspar, whooping for joy.

Jesse didn’t flinch, even as the thunder of hooves passed by only feet from his head. He’d napped out here enough to know that Kaspar not only knew he was there and avoided trampling him, but also kept Bertha from doing the same when they ran together. He rolled onto his arms to peek up over the tall grass. Hanzo had taken to riding like a fish to water and it was crazy to Jesse that Kaspar even allowed it. It also worried him that Kaspar might decide to choose a new owner and delegate him to the ‘no riding’ group.

Hanzo was currently holding onto that horse around the neck and laughing as the long pasture braids came up to smack him in the face as Kasper ran. He didn’t know how to guide Kaspar like this, though he wasn’t really trying to, he just liked the wind on his face and the way it felt like flying to ride the gelding. This was a truly majestic horse.

The last time he’d ridden Kaspar, Brigitte had told him that this horse didn’t let anyone but Jesse ride him and, while he was flattered, it had scared him off for a while. Why did the horse let him ride? Would Jesse get upset with him for it? That alone was enough to keep Hanzo away for a little while but he _loved_ horses. The siren call was too powerful for him to stay away forever. When he’d seen Kaspar out, along with having a carrot he’d helped harvest from the garden, the pull had been too strong.

Jesse didn’t interrupt them for a while, just watched as Kaspar went wherever it seemed the horse felt like going and Hanzo had a blast all the same. He didn’t have the heart to ruin the archer’s fun, especially since it seemed so rare that Hanzo got to have any at all. It wasn’t until Kaspar started to slow and occasional bend down to pick at the grass that Jesse finally let out a long whistle that started high, rose sharply and then dipped.

Kaspar’s head rose, ears flicking towards the whistle as he chewed on the grass sticking out of his mouth as if deciding if going over to Jesse was worth the effort. He lowered his head, grabbed another mouthful of the flowering bits of clover that had sprung up and then slowly ambled his way over to Jesse. After all, there might be a treat in it for him.

When that long whistle sounded, Hanzo froze up and stiffened on top of Kaspar. He was usually rather relaxed with the horse, which was why he took to riding him so easily, but when he tensed up it went… exactly as one might expect. Kaspar took a few steps and Hanzo began to slide before trying to right himself, having nothing to work with, overshooting his weight shift and landing pretty solidly on the ground. _“Itai!”_

Jesse sat up quickly at the sound, eyebrows raised. Kaspar looked the picture of innocence, turning back to snuffle at the fallen rider, just like he would when Jesse fell off from exhaustion.

Hanzo reached out and gently pet the horse on the nose, waving his other hand with a sigh. _“Daijoubu da.”_ He pat the horse on the neck and started to pull himself up onto his feet and rub his sore backside with a sigh.

Convinced that Kaspar hadn’t thrown Hanzo so much as perhaps suddenly moved when Hanzo wasn’t ready, Jesse pushed himself up off the ground and dusted off. “He didn’ hurt ya, did he?”

“Ah?” Hanzo’s confused sound was enough to get the point across before he shook his head with a polite smile. “No, not at all. He is very gentle and kind. You should be very proud.”

 _‘You ain’t known him long enough, that horse is trouble ‘n a half.’_ “Only sometimes, ‘n only fer certain people. He picks on Jefe, it’s the funniest thing.” He rubbed Kaspar’s nose. “Did ya used t’ ride when you were younger?”

“Kaspar’s the only horse I’ve ever seen, except the ones on television and in movies.” Hanzo responded naturally, looking up at the gelding. “I like his eyes.”

Jesse gave Hanzo a sideways look of shock, “Yer shittin’ me… Really?” His eyebrows rose, “Ya took to it so quick, I figured ya must’ve rode when you were younger.” _‘Makin’ me look bad, took me months t’ learn to ride when I was a boy.’_

“I did?” Hanzo asked, laughing as he did. “I just jump on from the fence and hold on!”

“Most people try that and fall off.” Jesse chuckled.

“Most people aren’t ninja.” Hanzo responded cheekily, moving to pet the long neck and enjoy the silky texture under his fingers.

“That’s a totally fair point.” He couldn’t even argue with that. Jesse looked between Hanzo and Kaspar and chewed his lip for a moment. “Y’know… there’s a feral herd that roams around the area… They’re probably back nearby. They always tend to follow the same path every year… I usually take Kaspar ‘n go run with ‘em. He seems t’ like it and… there’s few things more awe-inspiring than runnin’ with a herd. Ya wanna ride with me?”

“Yes.” He’d never answered ‘yes’ so fast in his life. Hanzo nodded and stepped closer, looking up at the cowboy with an eager expression that was completely at odds with the anxious and demure man that lingered just behind Genji most days. He was excited and _happy,_ which was, unfortunately, unusual for him. “Please take me with you.”

Jesse grinned, broad and toothy while his eyes crinkled up. “I dunno if Kaspar can handle both of us, but maybe we can borrow Bertha. Lord, knows the old girl could use a run or two.”

“I’ll get my bag!” Hanzo exclaimed, bouncing on his feet toward Jesse slightly before stopping himself in the process and then backing up bashfully. _“Arigatou!”_

While Hanzo ran off to get his bag, Jesse saddled Kaspar up and then loped on over to the shop where Jack most likely was this time of day. “Hey ol’ man! Got a favor t’ ask of ya.”

“Yeah, kiddo?” Jack returned, looking up from where he was attempting to tack a hide over some piece of furniture that wasn’t even furniture yet. Honestly, _he_ didn’t even seem to have a plan for it yet. “What is it?”

“Hanzo’s been ridin’ Kaspar fer a bit ‘n it seems like he really enjoys bein’ around ‘im. The herd oughta be back in the area, thought I’d take Kaspar for a run with ‘em and take Hanzo with, but… Kaspar ain’t gonna run with two full grown men on ‘im. Was wonderin’ if maybe I could borrow Bertha?” He gave Jack a sheepish grin, “I know it’s rude t’ ride another man’s horse but… I think he’d really enjoy it.”

Jack sat there for a few minutes, watching him as he had since Jesse had said ‘Hanzo rides Kasper’ before finally setting down his tools and walking out of the shop without a word to the nearby barn where the horses would have been kept. When he returned, he brought Bertha out with him in her saddle and tack--nobody got a horse ready as fast as Jack could--along with another tack in his other hand. “Listen, kid. I’ll get another stall cleaned out--” The ‘barn’ was actually the garage where military vehicles were parked and the ‘stalls’ were made by partitioning off the parking spots. “--and you bring him back a horse.”

Jesse had expected a lot of things but these weren’t it. He and Jack had a strange, and often rocky relationship that consisted mostly of Jack patronizing him and Jesse being tired of his shit. He blinked at Jack and then scratched the back of his neck, “Guess I oughta go get a rope then.” He nudged Kaspar to turn towards the barn to get the lariat rope that Jack had made a while back and then stopped and looked back, “Thanks, ole man.”

While all this had transpired, Hanzo had come back out with a canvas gym bag that had been beat to hell and back full of something that Jack suspected to be pilfered veggies from _his_ garden, but he didn’t say anything. The kid was glowing and even Jack didn’t have the heart to rain on his parade. He disappeared into the interior portion of his workshop, giving the pair of them space. With any luck, this would help Jesse get lucky and also lift the mood on the whole base.

“I am ready!” Hanzo exclaimed, though the excitement was tampered with concern since he’d seen Jack disappear into his workshop. “Did he let you… borrow his horse?” He asked, though Bertha was standing right there in full tack and saddle. He’d learned long ago that the appearance of consent did not consent make.

“Yeah, I just need t’ go grab something from the barn and we can be on our way. Y’ want some practice riding before we head out?”

“You don’t think Bertha would do anything to me… do you?” He asked, chewing his lower lip as he looked at the huge workhorse. He had thought _Kaspar_ was big but Hanzo’d never seen anything as big as her. “What kind of horse is she?” He breathed, looking up at her in awe--but not fear. He wasn’t afraid of her and that could be either the best or worst thing for him.

“Nah, she’s gentle, but steerin’ a gallopin’ draft horse is a lot different than holdin’ on to Kaspar while he goes wherever he damn well pleases. Kaspar’s real smooth, I’ve never ridden anythin’ like ‘im. Bertha? She’s gonna bounce ya.” Jesse warned, patting Kaspar’s neck with a chuckle.

A slow smirk spread over Hanzo’s face, looking smug even as the tips of his ears turned bright red. “If it’s only some rough bouncing, I’m accustomed.”

Jesse choked, nearly falling from Kaspar as he whipped around to stare at Hanzo. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, eyes wide as if he had never expected such a thing to come out of Hanzo’s mouth _ever_ . Genji, maybe, but not Hanzo. His eyebrows raised as a goofy grin replaced the fish-gasping he’d just been doing, “Is that so?”   
  
“I have yet to be bucked off, despite a few _valiant_ tries.” Hanzo returned easily, putting a foot into the stirrup before pulling his weight over the huge horse and wiggled a bit to get comfortable as he decided how to hold onto the reins.

Jesse’s eyebrows seemed to be doing their best to learn to fly with how high they had risen, and he blinked at Hanzo before pursing his lips together in what seemed to be an attempt to not laugh. He looked away, cheeks burning just a little. That mental image was gonna haunt his dreams for a long time to come. He shook his head to try to banish it and then swallowed hard, “I-- I’m gonna go get that lariat.”

As Jesse walked off, Jack couldn’t help but come out to watch Hanzo get used to the way Bertha responded to his gentle pulls on the reins. “That’s some story kid.”

Jack always caused Hanzo to freeze up but his pride was finding itself more wounded than he was afraid. “It isn’t a story.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. Jack didn’t believe it for a second, he’d been in the military too long. “I’ve been in the military too long kid, y’can’t fool me.”

“If there was any way to look up the scores at Round One, I could prove it.” Hanzo was frowning, clearly scorned. “I had the record for staying on the bull the longest.” He did _not_ understand what was so funny that Jack needed to laugh that hard.

Jesse came back on the tail end of that conversation. He had needed a minute to calm his ass down after the mental image that had come to mind from Hanzo’s words. He wasn’t sure if he was impressed or disappointed. Maybe a bit of both. “Well, if ya can ride a bull, I doubt you’ll have any problems with Bertha. She’s a hell of a lot nicer.”

“I was significantly more drunk when I achieved that record,” Hanzo sniffed, “And half naked. Also, Genji had written slurs on my back and I didn’t know till the next day. It was _horrible.”_

Jesse cackled, “Yeah, that uh, that about sums up all my experiences with drinking. ‘Cept I ran with a motorcycle gang full’a wingnut criminals instead of a pain in the ass younger brother…” He paused for a moment, “I didn’t drink much.”

Hanzo rocked his hips forward and nudged Bertha with his knees, still annoyed at Jack for questioning the validity of his story. “He wrote ‘Grope me, I’m the birthday boy’ on my back. And I was so drunk, I thought I was attractive. It was not fun.”

Jesse quirked his mouth to the side, opening his mouth to tell Hanzo that he was _very_ attractive and then turning red, bowing his head and scratching at the back of his neck. What if Hanzo just thought he was messing around? Or thought he was lying? Or just trying to make him feel better? What if Hanzo wasn’t _okay_ with that kind of flirting?

“Get going, both of you,” Jack grumbled at the pair of them. He’d hoped they’d just kiss already but since that wasn’t about to happen, he wanted them off his lawn.

“I’m going!” Hanzo called back, already heading out to the front gate as he tried to figure out exactly which motions made her speed up and alter course.

Jesse turned Kaspar and loped after Hanzo, grateful to be out of that conversation. He wanted to assure Hanzo that he was the hottest man Jesse had ever laid eyes on but the timing was all wrong. Kaspar, with his weird fast walk, caught up to the trotting draft mare with ease, matching her longer stride with his faster gait. “Ya good?” Jesse called, tilting his head as he watched Hanzo feel his way around guiding the mare.

“I’m… not certain. I think so.” Hanzo responded as he gently pulled on the reins and then let it go. He was getting a feel for exactly how much pressure Bertha needed before she began to slow down before he let her go back to her trot. “I don’t want to hurt her.”

“She’s pretty good about respondin’, but if ya wanna use less rein, ya can lean back into the saddle and squeeze a little with yer legs,” He settled back into his saddle to demonstrate and Kaspar slowed to a stop.

“Lean… and squeeze…” Hanzo repeated after him as he followed the instruction. Sure enough, she started to slow down and then stopped as well. Bertha didn’t need much nudging, which he was grateful for, but she was rather large. He was looking _down_ at Jesse from up here!

Jesse grinned up at him, “There ya go! T’ speed ‘er up just do it in reverse. Tap her side just a little with yer heel and shift yer weight forward.” He shifted forward to demonstrate and walked Kaspar around Bertha using only his legs and the slightest of gestures with the reins.

Once again, Hanzo repeated the instruction. At first, it was too gentle for her to feel the brush of his heel but the second time with a bit more pressure, she started to walk forward and respond to how he shifted his weight around to guide her. “This isn’t so bad.”

There was something a little wild in Jesse’s eyes as Hanzo picked up on riding like he’d done it all his life. He was gonna marry that boy. “Wait ‘til yer runnin’ with the herd. Tap her again, should get her trottin’.”

Another tap and Bertha set off across the front of the base toward the gate and Hanzo attempted to use his weight to turn her into the gate which worked pretty well. She wasn’t used to a totally intuitive turn like Hanzo was attempting to make by shifting his weight, but she picked up quickly enough. Lucky for Hanzo, Bertha didn’t want to crash into the fence any more than he did.

Jesse chuckled as he trotted out in front of Bertha, leading them down the road so that they could go find the herd. “They’re probably down by the creek by now. If not, can probably find ‘em by the big ole lake east of here. They usually ain’t too hard t’ find. They’re all a motley band o’ misfits.”

“That sounds familiar,” Hanzo replied as he managed to urge Bertha up to match Kaspar. It was a bit of a rough ride for a while, as he got used to the way she moved, but soon enough he was keeping time with the horse.

“Don’t it though?” Jesse laughed as he swayed gently with Kaspar’s rolling gait.

Jesse lead them down to the old creek, listening for the sounds of the herd nearby. He frowned when he heard nothing and held up his hand. “Wait here. I’m gonna go look for their tracks. They could be up or downstream from us, I just ain’t sure which yet.”

 _“Hai.”_ Hanzo nodded, deciding that he’d practice moving Bertha up and down the bank of the creek. She tolerated that for a few seconds before ignoring him to go drink instead.

Jesse set off, first east, finding their hoof prints not far away and turning to head back down the creek, pausing to laugh at Bertha’s sassy intolerance for any shit.

He heard them before he saw them, but they were all gathered in a clearing around a pond, grazing and drinking. His eyes lit up and then he turned back to get Hanzo. “We’re in luck, they’re paused in a big open clearing. If they run the right direction, we might end up by the big lake me ‘n Jack fish at.”

“What? Are you going to chase them--” Hanzo didn’t know how any of this worked. He just wanted to sit by the edge and watch but that didn’t seem to be what Jesse was here for.

“I--” He made a soft _‘hmm’_ and then glanced back up, “Kinda? But not exactly? When we get to the end of the creek, Kaspar’s… well he’s gonna bolt on me. He likes runnin’ in herds and I do too. So when the herd comes back in the area this time of year, I take him out and let ‘im.”

“Does Bertha?” Hanzo looked down at the mare who snorted and continued to look for a good spot to graze. She didn’t seem to be interested in the herd at all. “I don’t really want to run them off, if we can… I’d like to just… watch them? They’re beautiful.”

“Bertha’s old, she probably wants nothin’ more than to sit here and watch with ya. As far as chasin’ ‘em off? They don’t go too far. I… barely do anythin’, I’m just along for the ride, if I’m honest.”

“Do they… stop?” Hanzo asked, once again chewing on that bottom lip. He did it in the right corner when he got anxious about something. Bertha snorted and shook her head again as if feeling his anxiety. “I was hoping they’d stop moving.”

“Yeah, they calm down after they realize that the only thing nearby is more horses.” Jesse had never really thought about it, he had figured Hanzo had wanted to ride inside the herd like he did, see a dozen or more horses all moving as one unit. Now he almost felt a bit self-conscious. What if Hanzo thought badly of him for all this? He supposed he could just take Kaspar’s tack off and let him run…

“Oh, well,” Hanzo ran a hand over his bag that still rested against his hip. “That’s good.” Bertha was given a decent nudge so she’d quit grazing and start moving again. “I guess we should find them then.”

Jesse nodded, shifting his weight so that Kaspar would back up and turn around. He was still self-conscious about the whole thing now though. Kaspar broke into a trot, tossing his head as they got closer and Jesse gave a half-smile down at the gelding. He slowed to a stop at the edge, just out of sight of the herd, holding Kaspar's reins to keep him still and then pushed himself up to dismount.

Bertha moved herself up beside him, since Hanzo was staring at the herd in awe. He had never seen so many horses in his life. Lucky for him, unlike Kaspar, Bertha didn't care about running with them. She was old and would much rather just graze off to the side. “Why are you getting down? I thought you wanted to run with them?”

“I--” he shuffled uncomfortably as he landed on the balls of his feet. Kaspar wiggled, stomping the ground impatiently. “I had never thought of it like chasin’ em.” He rubbed his neck and stared at the ground. He kind of had to chase them if he was going to rope a horse for Hanzo, but none of this had really gone as planned.

“It is chasing them, though… isn’t it? I’ve never done this before but if they’re grazing and then they aren’t, isn’t that a chase? They’re relaxed now.” Hanzo didn’t know how any of this worked, he could only see it from his perspective--not Jesse’s.

Another uncomfortable shuffle as he started uncinching the saddle from Kaspar. He didn't know how to explain. It was complicated and anytime he opened his mouth with an idea, it just sounded terrible, and he'd close his mouth again.

He pulled the saddle off and rested it over a stump, then pulled the blanket. His hands lingered on the bridle for a moment, and then he pulled it over Kaspar's ears, holding out his hand to catch the bit when Kaspar spit it out. “Go have fun, bud.” Kaspar bolted without a second thought to the matter.

“Is he going to come back?” Hanzo asked, watching the other take everything off Kaspar and let him go. Hanzo began to slide off Bertha’s back to the ground, stretching the weakness from his legs.

“Yeah, he's good at recall.” Jesse nodded as he plopped himself down on the ground near the stump to watch Kaspar take off into the clearing without him.

As Hanzo suspected, without Jesse up on top of Kaspar the herd didn’t move. They weren’t threatened by _just_ another horse. He chewed his bottom lip and started to very slowly move out until they could see him. He knew they saw him because the outermost members of the herd started to shift and watch him. Hanzo reached into his bag and pulled out a large carrot… and then he just waited there in seiza.

Jesse wrapped his arms around his knees as he watched. Kaspar was prancing around the group, bumping the other horses as if he didn't quite understand why the others weren't moving. A few lashed out, screaming and biting at him, but he danced out of reach with his ears pinned before they could do any damage.

On the edge of the herd of mostly chestnuts, smattered with a few roans, paints and Appaloosas stood a… well, Jesse couldn't tell _what_ color that poor thing was. Only that it wasn't really welcomed into the herd and looked pitifully thin. Everytime it inched close to the group to graze, one of the herd would charge and chase it off. Hell, it probably never got to graze properly like that. Either that or it had been trapped in a pasture without much grazing area.

Hanzo whistled, mimicking the one that Jesse had used but changing it to only a high to mid range whistle. It was enough that the older horses who had been trained looked up and their ears swiveled around but then they ignored it. The whole point of the whistle had only been to get their attention though. Hanzo perked up, lifting higher on his knees whenever one of the horses did seem to start moving toward him but… well, they had a good life here and he didn’t look better than the herd.

Kaspar seemed to get the idea that the herd was not going to move and trotted back over to Jesse with a snort and a nudge. Jesse rubbed his muzzle until Kaspar bit his clothes and pulled.

“Stop that, ya menace.”

Kaspar butted him with his nose, receiving a shove in return.

Jesse rolled his eyes. “I know, I know… we can't.” 

Kaspar butted him again.

“I can't…” he hazarded a glance at Hanzo.

Kaspar stepped in his line of sight with a snort.

Jesse leaned around to watch the pitifully thin horse approach. This close, Jesse could see that it was a stallion, probably originally white or maybe cream in color, but the pink nose and blue eyes told him the stallion was not an older gray horse. The poor thing's mane and tail was sparse and his coat was caked in mud.

Kaspar whinnied at him disapprovingly and shoved him over. Jesse had to cover his mouth to stifle the yell.

As this poor horse came over, Hanzo shifted around in the grass a little in excitement while he waited to see if it would actually come to him completely. He didn’t coax or even move the carrot closer. It remained sitting in front of him over the grass to see if the animal would come and get it. Sitting wasn’t exactly safe around this many horses but Hanzo’d chosen the position because that made him _nonthreatening._ Everything he did seemed to revolve around keeping himself an equal and _not_ a threat.

Jesse just shook his head at the Disney-princess nonsense as if he hadn't done the same thing with Kaspar.

The stallion was skittish but eventually eased close enough to take the carrot from Hanzo.

Kaspar was still nudging at him, but Jesse was too busy watching Hanzo to pay attention.

When this horse came close enough for the carrot, Hanzo waited and then slowly pulled a second carrot from his bag to offer another carrot to the horse. _“Sugoi…”_ He whispered, watching this poor horse with wide eyes. _“Kireina me o shitemasune.”_

Jesse didn't understand a word Hanzo had said, but it sure sounded pretty. He leaned on his arms, ignoring the bumps against his ribs, finally smiling again.

It didn't last. He yelped as Kaspar grabbed him by the seat of his pants, and yanked. He was suddenly thankful he had a belt on and that Kaspar hadn't actually taken a bite out of his ass.

The thin stallion startled and bolted away several feet, ears pinned back.

Jesse shoved Kaspar and sat up. “Ya wanna run ya menace, go run. Stop bein’ a pain in my ass. Literally.”

Hanzo’s head had snapped around when he heard Jesse yell and then back to the spooked horse before digging around for the real treat that he might, or might not have, stolen from Jesse himself. A beautiful red apple, shiny and ready for the horse. He’d told himself he wouldn’t beg, and he _wouldn’t,_ a Shimada never did--but he might hold it out a little further and wiggle it some.

Jesse watched Hanzo hold out the apple, quirking a brow and smiling a little. Unlike Jack, he didn’t particularly care if people took apples from his trees, as long as they got put to good use. This qualified as a good use to him.

Slowly, the stallion inched back over and sniffed at the apple, then grabbed it with his teeth and pulled it from Hanzo’s hand, trotting off with his head held high.

Jesse choked on the snort, clapping a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter.

 _“Gaki~”_ Hanzo laughed, clapping his hands some at the pompous behavior before taking another carrot out. _“You remind me of my brother.”_

Jesse didn’t have to understand the words to know that tone. Hanzo talked to Genji in that tone.

The stallion didn’t seem to care that it had been called a brat. It just trotted around holding that apple like it had won the biggest bear at the carnival.

 _“Would you like another apple? I don’t have any more, but we have trees.”_ Hanzo offered to the horse, finally standing up and starting to step back toward the way they came.

“Well, I guess that’s it then.” Jesse patted Kaspar’s nose as it came in for another shove. “C’mon bud, let’s get ya saddled back up.” Jesse didn’t miss the dirty look he got, or the way Kaspar danced out of reach when he tried to put the reins back on. Unlike Hanzo, Jesse _had_ , _would_ , and _was currently_ , begging Kaspar to stop being such a little shithead.

While Jesse chased his stubborn gelding about, the stallion had changed closer after eating the apple and was now following Hanzo and snuffling at the bag that Hanzo had been pulling food from. After all, it must have been a magical bag, right?

“C'mon Kaspar!” Jesse whined with a roll of his eyes, “We can still run, just not here!”

Kaspar trotted away from him anyway.

Hanzo chuckled at the horse that was sniffing his bag, starting to walk toward Bertha and pulled another carrot from it for his new shadow. _“I have more food at home. You should come with me.”_

The stallion took the carrot more readily this time, bumping around the bag for more.

Jesse seemed to have given up on the bridle and was now chasing Kaspar down and attempting to swing himself on, tack be damned. He caught Kaspar by the neck as the stubborn gelding swung around to canter past and gave a triumphant, “Hah--woah! Kaspar no!”

Hanzo laughed as he watched Kaspar kick up into a full gallop toward the herd with Jesse on his back. It was different with Jesse guiding the horse to the herd but it seemed this time Kaspar got to say where they were going. As he watched, and continued to walk toward the base now with Bertha in tow, he offered another carrot to the skinny stallion.

“Kaspar, c'mon! Whoa!” Jesse grabbed onto the pasture braids as Kaspar charged into the herd, scattering them every which way and causing a stampede. Despite the thrill it usually brought to be in the middle of a thundering herd, Jesse couldn't enjoy it. Hanzo was probably going to hate him now.

As the herd slowed, Jesse sighed and stared down at his sweaty horse. “Happy now? Can't even put yer tack back on ya now, ya pain in my ass.”

If that horse could talk, Jesse swore he'd have gotten a snarky, 'Why yes. Yes I am.’

By the time Jesse and Kaspar got done with their little jaunt, Hanzo had managed to get both Bertha and the skinny stallion up the hill and start walking toward the base that he could now see in the distance. Sure, Jesse was still behind him but he figured the man could keep up. The only problem was that he was starting to run out of food for this horse. _“I’m out. I’m sorry. If you come with me, I have more.”_

The stallion seemed more than happy to follow Hanzo back, grabbing at the bag as if it would magically produce more, and that failing, started nudging around Hanzo's pockets.

Hanzo only worried that if he couldn’t quickly produce some food for this horse that it would run away… so he flipped around so that the horse couldn’t get to his back pockets as easily and walked toward the base like that instead. _“I don’t have any more for you!”_

The stallion shoved his nose in Hanzo's face, snorting a little and then attempting to nibble at the archer's bangs.

Hanzo’s eyes widened and he quickly pulled back while pushing his bangs up and away from the horse. _“No! Naughty! Don’t eat my hair!”_

He got a screech in response as the stallion's head jerked back and then he reared with a hoarse scream.

 _“Gomen nasai--”_ Hanzo felt bad now, chewing on his lower lip as he continued to back up. This time was slower, but he didn’t know if he was too close to the animal and wanted to give him space. _“I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”_ If there was one thing he was good at, it was apologizing. In Japanese he could apologize fifty different ways--and did so, all the while keeping his hands up in surrender and using a soft tone of voice.

After some loud whinnies, snorting and uneasy weight-shifting from foot to foot, the stallion finally settled. His icy blue eyes watched Hanzo warily as the archer bowed repeatedly before calming down.

It seemed Jesse had finally gotten Kaspar to listen to him long enough that he could guide the gelding back and catch up to Hanzo. He had picked up his pace when he heard one of the horses freak out, and ran to catch up with Kaspar following behind. He found Hanzo a decent distance from the stallion, bowing and apologizing. At least, he thought they were apologies. He sounded apologetic.

 _“Gomen nasai, Uma-kun,”_ Hanzo whispered as he slowly approached the stallion with his hand palm out. He didn’t have anything left to give him; all the food in his bag was gone. Now all he could offer the horse was the promise of more and a gentle hand.

Though it was skittish, and getting keen to the fact that Hanzo had no more food, the stallion slowly came close and butt it’s nose up against Hanzo’s hand as a sort of acceptance of the offer. Hanzo rewarded him with a bright smile.

_“I will call you Yuki.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We thought we'd pt up a bonus chapter before Friday since we have a _massive_ backlog of stuff written due to this being a NaNo fic. For those of you curious, Kaspar is a black near-leopard Appaloosa, Bertha is a chestnut draft horse, likely a Belgian, and Yuki is a perlino mutt. Kaspar was already gelded when Jesse found him years ago and carries the trait for the Appaloosa Shuffle gait. - Cross


	4. Chapter 4

The brunt of summer always made working outdoors almost completely unbearable, but one of their newest arrivals had come up with a plan to make the El Niño year more manageable. In the past, Jack and Jesse had just planted more food rather than worry about other means of feeding them, but Hanzo had taken one look at their storehouses and suggested a hot house. He had to give it to the kid, he hadn’t been there long but Hanzo was working his ass off to try and earn himself and Genji a spot among their little community. Gabe had a sinking suspicion that the trip with Jesse, the one that had earned Hanzo one of the spunkiest horses in the barn, was what had made him decide to stay.

At first Gabe’d been worried about them, but it’d been a couple of months now and they seemed genuine enough. Jack had decided they were good kids after about a month and got them their own room. He had already checked on the animals early that morning when it wasn’t as hot and resolved to help the boys with the hothouse for the afternoon. It would be a boon come winter to still be able to grow food, even after the El Niño was over.

He passed by where Ingrid, Jesse's mother Naomí, and Ana were making breakfast and took a deep breath. Whatever it was, it smelled good. Between Ingrid and Naomí, the cooking always was though. The only ones that needed to be kept out of the kitchen were Genji, who was not allowed to touch food at all unless he was eating it and Jack, who was better suited to grilling than cooking. Jesse was only allowed in the kitchen with supervision or a promise that he wouldn't use every pepper they had in that one dish.

There was a tray of freshly made biscuits sitting under the light of a dim lamp that tried to shine on their grid and did a terrible job of it. The biodiesel engines did a hell of a job keeping the freezers on and their daisy-chained solar cells on the few roofs that were available kept the electric flowing in the kitchens but early in the morning right as the sun started to rise, they got low on battery. Gabe snatched a biscuit off the tray and bounced it in his hands back and forth to cool it down.

“Can I have one?” A small voice asked from behind him. Gabe turned around, regarding little Thyr Lindholm standing there in his day clothes looking every inch still asleep before nodding.

“‘Course,” Gabe smiled, giving him the one he’d already cooled off for himself before starting to cool another.

“Where are you going?” Thyr asked softly, chomping on the biscuit before holding it out so Gabe could put jam on it.

“I’m going out to work on the hot house. It’s that big building that Hanzo and Genji have been building.” He watched out the front windows as the sun peeked over the horizon, reminding the whole world that life went on even after the end of everything.

“The one on the ground?” Thyr asked, taking a bite of his snack as Ingrid came back into the kitchen.

“Yeah, they built the frames on the ground, _mijo.”_ Gabe chuckled as Ingrid made an annoyed noise and shooed her son back over to the table where he was _supposed_ to be eating grits. Thyr had a notorious sweet tooth.

“I wanna help!” Thyr exclaimed, looking at his mother for approval. He usually was kept within the compound but sometimes, if he had a chaperone, Ingrid would let him go out into the yard with the older ‘kids’. The youngest person out there was his older sister and she was 20. Ingrid hadn’t even realized she was still capable of having kids when she got pregnant with their youngest. “Can I go too, Mama?”

Ingrid frowned, looking at his half-eaten grits and the crumbs from where he had devoured the biscuit. He’d eaten quite a bit but it wasn’t the food she would have liked him to eat. “When are you heading out there, Gabe?”

“I was actually just about to go out.”

She pursed her lips and watched her son for a moment before taking two biscuits. They were both stuffed with some sausage and eggs before being wrapped in a cheesecloth. She handed one to Gabe and one to Thyr. “You can go with him as long as you eat that.”

“Oki!” The tiny redhead chirped, moving instead to hold onto a belt loop in Gabe’s fatigues that were a bit more faded than camo by this point, and take a bite of his sandwich.

“Jesse is out there with Hanzo, so there will be lots of eyes to keep watch on him. And entertainment, because it’s _Jesse_ out there with _Hanzo.”_ Gabe chuckled, patting Thyr's head, thanking Ingrid for the food, before turning to head to the hothouse. “C'mon, let's go help Jess before he makes a fool of himself.”

Thyr began to giggle, nearly jogging to keep up with Gabe’s long strides. “‘S… too late for that.” He responded, ever a quiet kid despite the razor sharp tongue Ingrid and Ana had bestowed on him.

Gabe let out a bark of laughter. “Too true.” He liked this kid. He was only five and learning to sass with the best of them.

Upon reaching the hothouse, Gabe almost immediately rolled his eyes. It was worse than he'd guessed. Jesse had lost his shirt already and it wasn’t even 9 am. Genji was perched off to the side with a canteen of water, watching with the look of someone up to mischief or perhaps ready to tease the hell out of his older brother and Hanzo? Hanzo was probably the only one getting any actual work done.

Genji noticed him first, flicking his eyes at the pair building and giving him a Cheshire Cat grin with raised eyebrows. Gabe almost felt bad for Hanzo. Still, he stopped and watched for a moment until Jesse turned around and caught sight of him.

“Hey Jefe!” He called as he held up a piece of pipe for Hanzo, “Glad to see you up and attem! Well, unless you're just gonna watch too.” He tilted his head at Genji who just wiggled his fingers back with an unashamed grin.

Hanzo stood up from where he’d been squatting next to some old PVC piping Jesse’d raided from nearby houses in Grand Junction. He’d been tasked with turning these bits and pieces into a functioning sprinkler system so that the items inside the hothouse could actually grow but connecting them with nothing more than heavy duty glue and mesh fabric was proving to be… interesting. “We could use the help.” He called, a bit more restrained than the resident cowboy but none the less irritated. “If you could get Genji moving, that alone would be a valuable contribution.”

Gabe snorted, gesturing at Genji. “Up and attem, kid. Break time's over for both of us. We can't let Thyr outwork us, right?”

Brigitte, who had also been sitting nearby sighed and pulled herself back to her feet. There was work to be done. Only in August would it already be _this_ hot, _this_ early.

Genji groaned, sprawling over his seat. “It's hot.”

“It's no cooler sitting there than working. Up.”

“Fiiine…” The younger Shimada rolled to his feet with a whine and sulked over to the hothouse.

Thyr had let go of Gabe and moved over to where the group was working on covering the walls in plastic. This entire thing had to be put together with a mish mash of random materials but it would work. Hanzo’s sprinklers were laid out on the floor inside the studs that had been put up by Jesse and the walls were _supposed_ to be covered in plastic sheeting by Genji. _Supposed to be._

“I’m not sure why you’re complaining,” Hanzo sniffed, aligning another bit of pipe and opening up the nasty glue primer to turn the whole thing purple. “There’s a lovely breeze through the walls you _haven’t covered.”_

Gabe snorted while Jesse outright cackled. “You heard him, kid. It's nice and cool. C'mon, if we both work on it we can get done before it gets any hotter.”

That seemed to at least help get Genji moving. It wasn’t a particularly difficult build, since the frame had already been made, it just took all hands on deck. Fareeha had even been sent out there by her mother later on in the morning so that they could have the help. Ana was the one who did their weaving and her daughter was meant to be learning but she was pretty hopeless at it.

Hanzo wiped his forehead, once again needing to rally the troops. He wasn't a fan of how much work needed to be done just to get Genji to pull his weight but that was the fate of most older siblings. The five-year-old was outdoing his brother. “Thyr,” He called, causing the tiny redhead to jog over at perfect attention as if he were a small soldier. “I’ll need you to get up on top of the frame and make sure this is in alignment while I attach it.”

Thyr didn’t seem so keen on balancing himself on top of what was essentially a few wooden boards.

“Don’t worry, if you fall, I’ll catch you.” The oldest Shimada brother even offered a small smile. “But you’re the smallest and I don’t know if it’ll hold my weight.”

The redheaded child still didn’t seem quite convinced, even as thin, archery-calloused fingers pushed his curls from his forehead. _“Daijoubu desu ka?”_

“‘m scared of heights.” Thyr answered with a tiny shrug, looking down at his feet and rubbing the scuffed toes of his hand-me-down shoes into the dirt.

 _“Sou da.”_ Hanzo clicked his tongue and hummed as he looked around the small hot house. “Genji! Get up there and line up my sprinklers!” He barked, and then nudged Thyr toward Jesse with a small smile. “Keep your feet on the ground, _Otouto.”_

Thyr grinned back at him as he jogged over to the resident cowboy.

Genji grumbled under his breath as he passed the trash bags off to Gabriel. He didn't want to go up there but he was the next smallest and he wasn't going to traumatize a young child so that he could get out of work. He pursed his lips as he shimmied himself up the frame, not at all a fan of how much it swayed as he did so.

Jesse at least seemed to notice that much because he was chewing his lip and narrowing his eyes at the planks of wood before heading toward the pile of extras to look for ways to stabilize it. Genji scooted himself along the boards, holding his hand out for the pipe. He didn't mind heights, but somewhat unsteady and questionable heights that might not hold his weight? That was different.

“It will only be a second, Sparrow.” Hanzo scoffed. It might sway in the wind but it was strong. The house was built on the physics of an arch--the more weight applied at the top, the stronger it would be as that weight was transferred into the base. Though, knowing that and remembering it while you were swaying in the wind on the top was different. The sprinklers were to be attached to a reservoir of rainwater and other graywater up the hill so once Genji had it in place, he could start nailing the plumbers tape up to the studs. “Don’t worry so much. Your knight in scuffed up leather is here to protect you.”

Genji rolled his eyes. “I don't need a knight to protect me.” He wasn't aware his brother _could_ be so oblivious. Sure, he trusted that either Jesse or Gabriel would catch him, but Hanzo was over there insinuating that there might be something between him and Jesse. The cowboy was cute, but wasn't really his type. Plus, Jesse was so head-over-heels for Hanzo he wasn't quite sure _how_ his brother missed it. Genji shimmied again, frowning at the swaying building and locking his legs around the current beam he was on to free his hands. “You forget who was a master at sneaking out. I've got perfect balance.”

“You fell off the roof last _week.”_ Hanzo droned as he nailed the plumbers tape into position and raised an eyebrow at his younger brother.

“I didn't fall, I jumped because I lost my footing.” Genji shot back with a wink. “Fall suggests that I didn't mean to hit the ground.”

Hanzo huffed, as he was more and more prone to doing when Genji got stubborn, turning his head and then spluttering when his long ponytail smacked him in the face for his efforts. Where Genji kept his hair sheared short with anything available, Hanzo had given up on cutting it at all and instead left it so long it skimmed the mid-back. _“Fuzakeru na.”_ Whenever Hanzo had something nasty to say, he said it in a way that Jesse couldn’t understand. He didn’t like the cowboy seeing him being too vulgar. Father had always said it wasn’t attractive.

“I’m not _stupid,_ stupid.” Genji shot back, narrowing his eyes at his older brother and effectively ruining the entire reason Hanzo had slipped into Japanese in the first place.

Jesse seemed to find it all the more amusing, and had pressed his lips together in a way that said he was trying hard not to laugh, but was failing.

The oldest pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at Genji while taking hold of one of the studs. One little shake was all it took to really get his point across, no words required.

Genji squawked, tightening his legs around the beam he was sitting on and caught himself with his hands. When he didn’t fall, he let out a mockingly triumphant “Ha!” and stuck his tongue out at Hanzo.

“Do not _tempt_ me.” Hanzo countered, beginning to hammer in the next bit of tacks. If he was a bit brutal with a few of the hits so the entire structure shook… well, he was very good at his job, wasn’t he?

Thyr watched from the sidelines with his legs crossed and a bottle of water in one hand and his head propped up on the other. Why did they fight so much? He loved his sister and didn’t fight with her. It didn’t make any sense to him.

Genji stuck his tongue out again as Hanzo made the building sway. He was getting used to it, waiting until Hanzo had to pause to shimmy further along the beam. Gabriel was busy putting the plastic up, but he also had left a few measured gaps that could be filled in later.

The problem was though, Genji was used to the _usual_ swaying and had a bad habit of getting cocky. Right as he was working his way forward, legs unhooked with a smug grin, the wind caught the now-mostly-covered side and the whole structure gave a violent shake. Genji shrieked as he slipped, scrabbling to catch himself before he hit the ground.

His older brother was quick though. Genji always made this unsightly yelp when he was scared and the moment Hanzo heard it, he dropped everything in his hands and turned. It wasn’t a perfect catch--not even close--but it was a catch. The eldest caught his younger brother and the force of it sent him onto his ass but Genji didn’t hit the ground. _“Itai!”_ Hanzo hissed, pushing Genji off him once they were on the ground to gingerly start standing back up. The only sibling that had gotten hurt, it seemed, was the one whose bony ass had struck gravel.

Jesse had dropped what he was doing as soon as Genji fell but Hanzo was closer and faster. He stopped short as the pair hit the ground, holding out his hand to help them up. Well, mostly to help _Hanzo_ up but if Genji grabbed his hand to pull himself up, Jesse wouldn't fault him for it, “Y'all okay?”

Genji didn't, mostly because now his pride was battered and he was sulking, “I'm fine.”

Gabe returned to work as soon as he was sure that everyone was okay, “Maybe next time, you'll be more careful,” he chided, eyes focused on Genji as he said it.

For all his faults and prideful missteps, Hanzo didn’t miss the opportunity to get up without jostling his now bruised behind. He smiled ever so slightly at Jesse before going to check Genji over. From his hands that had to be pried out of a crossed arm position to back to knees, the oldest sibling checked him over for any kind of injury. _“Daijoubu?”_ Hanzo asked, nudging clothed areas to see if Genji would wince. His younger brother was his responsibility; that was what Father told him before he died. Keep Genji safe.

Genji waved Hanzo off, smacking at his older brother's hands with an eye roll and a groan. “I'm _fine_.”

Jesse pursed his lips, “He's gotta right t’ be worried.”

“I've fallen from higher places, it's not going to _kill_ me.”

“It might kill _me.”_ Hanzo quipped under his breath and whether or not he meant physical harm from catching the younger or emotional harm that came with the heart attack seeing him fall gave, that was left up to the interpretation of the listener.

Genji huffed softly and headed back to the frame where Gabriel had left a gap so that he could crawl back up. This time, he didn't get so cocky but he definitely didn't miss the way Gabriel kept him in his peripheral vision at all times. He was _fine_. He hated when they did this shit.

By the time lunch rolled around, everyone was starting to feel the heat. It made everybody cranky, even those who got _along._

“C’mon, put yer back int’ it, old man!” Jesse snarled.

“Old? Look in the mirror, Jess!”

“I got _at least_ ten more years! You're already there!”

“And I can still outrun and out lift you!”

“Quicker don't mean better!” Jesse sneered, “Guess now we know why Jack is so pissy all the time.”

Fareeha rolled her eyes. It always had to devolve into innuendos.

“I will drop this.”

“Drop it? Couldn't tell ya were liftin’ in the first place! My granny could do better and she had osteoporosis!”

“Oooh a big word--”

Jesse let out an offended noise, “Fuck off, I ain't uneducated.”

“No, just Southern.”

“Least I ain’t from _California_.”

Fareeha let them continue for a tad longer before sighing, “C'mon guys. Let's get this up so we can go get lunch.”

Hanzo had been watching the pair of them attempt to lift a large fan that had been retrofitted by Brigitte to turn on a crank chain. It was meant to go in the roof to vent out air that was too hot in the summer but right now it seemed that its only purpose was to give Gabe and Jesse something else to fuss about. “Leave them. Its entertaining.” Hanzo smirked.

“As much as I'd love to, I don't want to deal with those two when they get hangry...er, hangrier.” Jesse got loud and Gabriel got as stubborn as Jack but twice as mean.

Gabe lifted the fan, sending Jesse stumbling with an embarrassing squawk. “What's wrong, Jess? Can't keep up?”

Jesse scoffed and shoved upward from the uncomfortable, almost bowed position he was in under the fan. “Nah, just thinkin’ how you Californians ain't got no manners!”

“You wouldn't know manners if they kicked you in the face.”

“I'll kick _you_ in the face.”

“Boy, don't try me. I'll whoop your ass and then tell your mama.”

“Let's go, old man. I ain't scared.”

Fareeha let out a groan and moved into the space left on the fan and shoved it into position. “There. It's done. Now go get cleaned up! I swear, Thyr is _five_ and he's more mature than the both of you!”

Thyr giggled, very impressed to be mature and not knowing that the comment was more for them than him. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

“Aw, Reeha c'mon… it's just some _friendly_ ribbing. Besides, he's Californian… he can't help the way he is.” Jesse chuckled as he brushed his hands on his pants, much to Fareeha's dismay. She was the one stuck doing laundry today.

“Better than some wannabe Texan.”

“Wannabe-- now you take that back! I ain't even _close_ to bein’ a Texan.”

“Could have fooled me.”

Jesse squinted at Gabe sideways, pursing his lips and then huffed and started for the inner walls, grumbling the whole way.

In a stark contrast, Hanzo had instead washed his hands in a nearby bucket before letting them air dry and leaned over to Fareeha conspiratorially, whispering just loud enough to be heard--which was the point. “He's _not_ a Texan?”

Gabe roared with laughter as Jesse's grumbling got louder. At some point he'd also switched to Spanish. Fast, nearly incomprehensible Spanish that left Gabe trying to piece together context from every fourth word. Luckily, most of the words coming out of Jesse's mouth were foul enough that Gabe didn't _have_ to figure out the context.

Hanzo figured that had probably not earned him any favor with the attractive American but at the very least it had been amusing. So he began trucking it up the hill along with the others so they could all eat breakfast.

“Why does Jesse use such bad words?” Thyr asked, looking up at Fareeha as he held her hand. All the children here were given an education in the languages spoken. Ana could impart her Arabic, Thyr’s own mother spoke Swedish, and then Spanish from Gabe, Naomí and Jesse, but mostly Naomí. Except when Jesse went on a tirade and _greatly_ expanded the boy's vocabulary.

“Because he seems to have forgotten everything Auntie Nono taught him,” Fareeha sighed. At least it had separated Jesse and Gabe, who magically seemed to turn into teenage boys whenever they were in the same space for too long, or rather, Jesse turned Gabe into a teenage boy.

Her adoptive brother was resourceful and always found work to do, but his social skills had apparently halted somewhere around 15. Sometimes, his crudeness was useful, like when he dealt with raiders, but most of the time it was a headache-inducing nuisance.

As they traveled up to the main, fortified portion of the base where they all called home, Jack could be seen trucking his basket of fresh veggies back from the opposite side of the yard. He was focused on something else, though it could be anything knowing him, and as a result he didn't realize he was in the path of hurricane Jesse until the cowboy ran straight into him. _“Oi, no me maldigas.”_ The old man growled and sidestepped Jesse entirely on his way in. If Jesse could cuss at him in Spanish, Jack could tell him off in Spanish. It was a perk of living with Gabe for so many years.

Jesse made a face at Jack, curled his lip and grumbled, “Make me.”

Gabe snorted, “Don't tempt him, Vaquero. He will.”

The cowboy muttered something under his breath, too low to be comprehensible, but Gabe was willing to bet that it was something along the lines of wishing Jack would. Of course, everyone except Jesse knew who'd win that fight, but if the cowboy wanted to fight Jack, Gabe wasn't going to save his dumb ass. The two always seemed to flip-flop on whether or not they actually liked each other and apparently, this month was the latter.

Luckily for Gabe, he didn't have to save him. Jesse trudged inside and straight for his room. Normally, Gabe would tease him about pouting, but he decided that Jesse was in a bad enough mood already and didn't push it. He didn't want to listen to him bitch through lunch. There was only so much poor Naomí could do to stop his pissy grumbling.

This whole ordeal would have left Hanzo with a bad taste in his mouth if it weren't for the fact that it was normal for Jesse to get aggravated and storm out like that when one of the other members started poking too hard at him. The first time or two, he had been worried, this time he only chuckled along with the others as they headed to wash up.

Gabe fell in step with Jack, bumping his shoulder gently to try to wipe that frown off his face and cooed softly in Spanish under his breath.

Every time Hanzo saw the old soldiers, he had questions. Who were they? They did not hold themselves like grunts. They both kept their chests out and heads up even if Jack’s shoulders seemed to sag under some heavy burden that no one else could see.

Sometimes, if he watched, Hanzo would notice their proximity. Jack didn't allow anyone to stand closer than a meter and a half to him, unless it was Gabe. Usually those two kept less than a meter between them. Something was clearly bothering Jack, though. He kept walking to closer to Gabe than strictly required and murmuring to him under a hushed breath. Sometimes Jack would reach out and touch Gabe. Nothing overt, just a hand on the back or shoulder bumping.

Something was going on there and Hanzo couldn't quite put his finger on it. It could just be good friends, and he hated to read too far into a wholesome bromance because he was as gay as they came, but Hanzo couldn't help but hope it was something more. If they could make it in this fiasco, there was hope for him too.

As he walked into the kitchen, Hanzo nearly jerked back as Brigitte came bounding through the door intent to get to Fareeha behind him. “Reeha!” She squealed, excited about ...something? He was just excited to eat.

Brigitte had carefully gotten a plan together to try and shove the moody and broody men--the same two that so _clearly_ liked each other but wouldn't admit it--together. It required some finesse to avoid Jesse while clipping his roses and a bit of cajoling to convince Ana, Naomí and Ingrid… but now all she needed was to pull it off. Too bad Jesse was currently pouting in his room.

Of course, if you asked Jesse, he wasn't pouting. He was, however, still grumbling while he pulled out a change of clothes that didn't smell like a hot building full of shit. While he had no problems getting out in the dirt and muck and working hard, it was semi-ingrained into him to get mostly cleaned up before meals when he'd been out in the gardens or gutting anything. The crazy omnic supervirus was bad enough without opening the door and welcoming it in like an old friend cause you were stupid enough to eat something after handling dirt, manure, or a deer full of guts.

The showers weren't much, just a gravity-fed system fed by rain, snow and whatever leftover gray water was deemed safe to be used for showering. They were never hot, except in mid-summer when absolutely no one wanted a hot shower, and damn near useless in winter but they got you clean and that's all Jesse wanted.

They were on the cool side of lukewarm today, and after being in the hothouse sweating his ass off, that suited Jesse just fine. Of course, his entire shower took less than five minutes, just enough to get washed up and rinsed. He wasn't going to be the one that used up all the water. No sir. Jack would have his ass.

He ruffled his wet hair on the way back to the kitchen to get lunch, shaking most of the water from the short-cropped back and getting the top and front at least only damp. It was going to curl up something fierce when it dried, but that was just how his hair was. Being clean always helped his mood. In fact, he probably would have been fine the rest of the day, except for the bright red that caught his eye near Hanzo.

Roses. _His_ roses! From _his_ bush! That _he_ took care of! He was the one that grew it from a cutting that he found at least four years ago. He was the one that pruned it and covered it and made it look good, and someone else had just come along and snipped off some roses and given them to Hanzo.

Now, he wouldn't have minded if they were just a centerpiece. He brought in roses all the time to put on the table or to give to his ma. He gave _a lot_ of flowers to his ma. It wasn't the fact that someone had touched his rose bush. It was the fact that someone had cut what looked to be most of the _best_ roses from his bush, _without_ his permission, and was trying to _woo Hanzo with them._

Brigitte was beaming wide as hell while Hanzo glanced at the roses and began looking around. It hadn't dawned on him that these were for him, obviously, as he pulled a crystal vase that had survived the chaos of the infection, save for a chip in the rim, and filled it with water from the sink before placing the roses inside and arranging them at the center of the table.

 _Godammit, Hanzo._ “Hey Han,” Brigitte piped up, setting the family size dishes at the center of the table along with the roses. “Who got you those flowers? They're pretty.”

Jesse's eyes narrowed slightly at Brigitte. That question made him doubt she was the one that took the roses to give to Hanzo, but she was certainly up to something. Who would be trying to woo Hanzo though? Jack and Gabe didn't seem like there was any trouble between them and he doubted either would be interested. Reeha wouldn’t be, she was about as straight as he was. Ana wouldn't and neither would his ma, they were the only two he'd admitted the he was sweet on Hanzo to. Of course, Ana was also a filthy schemer and she roped his ma into her schemes _a lot_.

Ana, to her credit, didn't appear to be too mischievous but she certainly had a bit of a twinkle in her eye that she didn't usually. “They certainly are beautiful. I would think whoever brought them was also the person that cultivated them.” The older woman made eye contact with Jesse as she did, attempting to relax the situation before it escalated. 

Jesse deadpanned back at her. Definitely scheming. He did _not_ need people meddling in his business. He had already thought this out. He _knew_ how he wanted to do things and in front of _everyone_ was not it. This would be the last time he told her _anything,_ god damn. The fact that she had gotten his ma involved in this only made it worse.

“They are beautiful,” Hanzo mused, sitting at the side of the table and bobbed his head in a slight bow. “But I'm afraid whoever cut them from the bush is not the one who grew them, as he was with me this afternoon. Clever trick, Brigitte.”

 _“Skit!”_ She cursed across the table and leaned back in her chair heavily, “How did you know?”

“You look like a cat that ate the pet mouse and Jesse appears ready to punch someone,” Hanzo chuckled, arranging the roses again to get a better orientation. Ana clearly thought this was the funniest thing, since she was laughing boisterously at Brigitte’s expense and even Ingrid was giggling, despite covering Thyr's ears so he wouldn't repeat Brigitte’s colorful language.

Jesse snorted, mouth quirking to one side even as his cheeks heated up. He hadn’t thought he’d been so obviously irked. Woops. Oh well. He shook his head, “Are y’all ‘bout done meddlin’, then? Cause I'm starvin’.”

“Not till you guys go out on a date!” Brigitte exclaimed, finding herself cowed by the sharp expression Hanzo gave her for her efforts.

“Whether we do or don't is none of your business, Brigitte, and it is extremely rude to interfere with the love life of someone else. I have only been here for a few months, and while you've all been extremely hospitable, I am not looking for romantic engagements right now. I'll thank you not to interfere again.” Hanzo stated blandly as he spooned up food onto his plate and murmured an 'itadakimasu’ under his breath.

Genji stared down at his food as his brother took on _that_ tone. The ‘I was trained to take over a yakuza clan and you need to respect me’ tone. Alternatively, the ‘overly polite fuck you’. When Hanzo was put on the wrong foot, he usually went the way of a politician and denied everything--kind of like right now.

Brigitte's lips formed a small 'o’ as she tried to make herself seem as small as possible while still fiddling with her food. That hadn't been how she, or anyone else here, had expected that to go.

 _‘...not looking for romantic engagements right now.’_ Someone might as well have kicked Jesse in the stomach, but he schooled his face and tried not to think about it. At least not here. He didn’t need anymore meddling in his personal business. He didn't miss the look from his ma that said she'd be checking up on him later, as if that was _exactly_ what he needed right now.

Instead, he dished out some of the nearby food onto his plate and started eating as if he hadn’t lost most of his appetite. He wished Hanzo would have said something. Shit, he’d probably been irritating the poor guy and Hanzo had been too polite to tell him where to shove all of his dumb pick up lines… or maybe Hanzo just thought that he was messing around because they _were_ dumb. Which he said them to make Hanzo laugh, so he _was_ kinda messing around but he’d meant the flirting. God, he was such an idiot, how had he not noticed?

Gabe winced internally for Jesse. Even though the cowboy had never mentioned anything about being interested in Hanzo, it was obvious. Gabe had seen it a mile away and if the cowboy was as smitten with Hanzo as Gabe _thought_ he was, that ‘not looking’ might as well have kicked him in the teeth.   
  
The problem was that Jesse was really good at hiding emotions when he tried and at first glance, anyone else might think Jesse was just fine but Gabe knew better. His silence was the most telling part, though. Jesse was never quiet at lunch, but to anyone else, that could be attributed to him being irritated at the rest of them. Jesse never went to a truly neutral face, same as his mother. Even so, Gabe couldn’t quite tell how upset Jesse was. What little emotion filtered through the mask of mild irritation didn’t give him much. By the way Naomí watched Jesse though, she knew. Then again, she was his mother, she could probably read him like a book.   
  
After a few awkwardly quiet moments, Genji cleared his throat. “So uh, meant to say something earlier, but while I was out scouting around yesterday, I saw a huge group of… raiders, I think, all gathered around this one building. Pretty big building, and whatever’s in it, they want it.” Anything to change the topic.  
  
“Probably drugs ‘r booze.” Jesse mumbled. “Could be guns ‘r food I guess, but my money’s on drugs ‘r booze.”

“It's probably drugs. Booze wouldn't keep, don't think,” Jack grumbled from his side as he reached across the table and gestured to the bowl of corn on the cob. Ingrid dutifully picked it up and handed it over, getting a 'thank 'm’ for her troubles.

Jesse welcomed the change in subject, giving a slight hum, “Depends on what kind it is, on both fronts. Whiskey’d keep.”

“Hollow points would be fine if kept dry but other ammunition may not be reliable after so long, even in a mostly dry state.” Hanzo mentioned, taking a bite of his meal and glancing up at Jack.

“I don't know if that's a fight worth fighting, no matter what is inside,” Ana commented from her side of the table, although she knew Jack would still want to see. A noise of agreement from Naomí seconded Ana's opinion on the matter.

“Don't matter. That many raiders in our backyard is a problem. Best t’ take it and destroy it,” Jack rumbled again, looking over at Gabe for another opinion.

“We definitely need to get rid of them, could be what’s been attracting all these zombies lately.” Gabe agreed. “As for the contents of the building, I think destroying it should wait until we’ve scouted it better. If it _is_ food, it wouldn’t hurt to see what’s still good.”

  
“Ammo could probably be repurposed fer traps. Don’t matter if it’s unreliable in a gun if ya pack it as shrapnel.” Jesse offered. Hanzo gave him an approving smile and nod for his trouble. Naomí seemed less approving of the reminder that her son had become a gangbanger and knew his way around guns, homemade traps and explosives.

“It is a good idea but who would go to do the actual retrieval?” Hanzo asked, looking between them. “Genji absolutely cannot go.”

“Neither can Brigitte,” Ingrid stated in a rare moment of rigid denial. Even though her daughter protested, there was no way she would be getting to go on this trip.

“I'll go, but Fareeha cannot.” Ana frowned, sipping her cup of coffee. She wasn't about to change her mind either.

Fareeha opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by Genji’s protests, “Like _hell_ I can’t go! Who else is going to sneak around that place? And before you say yourself, it’d be faster if we both do it.”

“It's too dangerous, you can't go.” Hanzo said again, his tone teetering dangerously back to 'I’m the boss so respect me’ territory.

“ _Everything_ is dangerous, Hanzo. Literally _everything._ ” Genji straightened his back, used to defying those tones of voice. “They’re just raiders. Besides, if they shoot at us, their guns will probably blow up in their hands anyway.”

“I don't _care.”_ Hanzo’s voice was filled with finality but Jack cut over him.

“My mission, my men. I say he goes and you stay.”

That earned him a squawk from Hanzo as the older tried to stammer out a reason why it should be the opposite. Jack raised a hand, however, and Hanzo obediently fell silent. “Genji is a capable fighter and he is good at getting into places unseen, better than that, he's _bad_ at staying in one place. Asking Genji to stay near an objective is like asking Jesse to take off his spurs. It just don't happen.”

Hanzo couldn't help but agree with that.

“I need an infiltrator and you need to stay here and protect the civilians.” Jack finished, taking a long drink of his water. “Easy solution.”  
  
Jesse was originally going to chime in that he would go but something nagged at him, “Leavin’ yer only _quiet_ long range don’t make a lot of sense no matter which way ya spin it. Why not leave me here to hold down the fort?”

Naomí wished Jack would leave her son here. It wasn't that she didn't trust Hanzo, in fact, she loved how polite and respectful he was. The way she'd raised her own son to be before he joined with that pack of miscreants. Unfortunately, she also knew that him joining that gang was what had gotten him here, made him valuable to these men and, in turn, brought her here. So, she politely kept quiet, even as Jack started to speak again.

“Because I need you,” Jack shrugged, “Nobody else here can tell me what's in the box if we open it up and find some kinda drug or ammunition. 'Sides, between Ana with 20 years of spec ops experience and Greenie McGreen archer, I'll take the devil I know.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow, “They got out here and stayed alive on their own before us.” He reminded. “Ain’t that green.” He wasn’t going to argue with his own ability to identify the substances he used to run in all their forms, though. Deadlock had been good for _some_ things.

“All the better to stay home and take care of the girls, then. Glad that's settled.” Jack was nothing if not stubborn, though Ingrid would make him pay for that comment. Naomí, too. Perhaps Jesse wouldn't mind too much if some of his peppers went missing.

Jesse shook his head with a wry smile. He could keep going round and round with Jack all day, and sometimes he did, but someone had to stay here. Sure there was the argument that taking Ana _and_ Hanzo meant more eyes on them if shit went south and if it was drugs or whatever they could just bring it back. There was also the argument that it could be food and render him unnecessary. There were a bunch of arguments but Jesse didn’t feel like fighting them. Sometimes making Jack angry was hilarious but between all the shit earlier and Hanzo, he just didn’t feel like fighting. 

“Guess I oughta go make sure all my shit’s together.” Jesse sighed as he pushed away from the table, what little he’d put on his plate already gone. He was sure his ma would give him hell later about not eating like he should but he’d had to force what he had eaten down. He could already see the look on her face, like she was going to follow him. If she did, fine. He really didn't want her to, he didn't want to talk about it, but he sure as hell wouldn't tell her to go away or leave him alone.

Likewise, Jack also pushed away. He put his plate in the sink, walked over and gripped Ingrid’s shoulder while telling her how delicious it was, and then exited out the side door.

They were all quiet for a moment or two, looking around the table before Ingrid ultimately broke the silence. “When I'm done with him, he's going to shit fire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo has a bad case of the 'I did not sleep with that woman' syndrome. 
> 
> If in doubt, deny everything.
> 
> -Ladie


	5. Chapter 5

“I can’t believe you-- You are so stupid.” Genji shook his head as he barged into his brother’s room with a single, practically superficial knock.

Hanzo barely flinched from where he was carefully shaving his jaw-line with a sharp knife and some oatmeal soap that had been swirled into a lather. “Am I?” He asked, looking over through the mirror at Genji before getting back to it.

“Uh, yeah.” Genji deadpanned with the most ‘duh’ voice he could muster “You are. Why would you say something like that in front of Jesse?! I thought you  _ liked  _ him. Like really  _ liked _ him.”

“Mm, did I?” Hanzo was clearly playing coy as he raised his jaw to get the skin along the bottom side. “Perhaps I would rather make sure that, should I not like him as much as you think I do, we don't get tossed out without supplies, ah? One should take care not to upset the balance--  _ Kuso.”  _ He had cut himself. Hanzo was still learning to shave without cutting himself because he had changed knives to shave so many times that each change meant he needed to re-learn a new blade.

“Well, if you're going to be like that, I'm not sure it's you I feel bad for. I did, at first, cause you probably just killed your chances with Jesse. Execution-style. With a firing squad. Now I just feel bad for him.”

“You forget that my duty, above all, is to keep you safe.” Hanzo narrowed his eyes over his shoulder at his brother and then continued on despite the blood. “I didn't say never, just not now. Maybe after we have been here longer and established our place, it could be safer… but right now? Relationships ruin things. It could ruin our safety here.”

“He's not Japanese, Hanzo. He's American and telling an American that you're not interested in a relationship right now…” He scoffed, “You might as well have told him to jump off the nearest bridge. That is like one of the biggest 'I'm not interested in you but I might be interested in someone other than you.’ I mean, he barely ate for someone who was 'starving’!”

Hanzo flipped around so fast on the chair that he risked cutting himself again, “But I’m  _ not _ interested in someone other than him!” He said with a heavy set frown, smacking the knife on the counter and shook his head. “I do like him, I just-- I can’t put our safety in danger for something that might not even last.”

Genji opened his mouth and then closed it. There wasn’t going to  _ be  _ a relationship to last if Hanzo kept this up. Instead he just sighed and shook his head, “I wish for once you’d put your happiness first.”

“I'd rather live unhappy and live than be happy and die, or worse, live and let you die for my mistakes.” Han shook his head and sighed. “I wish, for once,  _ you _ would respect my decisions. I hate that you're going out there tonight.”

“I'm not a  _ child _ , Hanzo! I can handle myself you know. I go out on scouting trips alone all the time. I  _ found  _ the group of raiders and they never saw me!” He hated when his brother mother-henned him. He knew that a lot of their survival could be attributed to his brother's choices but it didn't make them any less frustrating. Or in this case, heartbreaking. He wanted Hanzo to be happy for once and that cowboy was damn good at making Hanzo happy.

“We're off-topic. We were talking about Jesse. You know, there's a plus side to all of this. At least you'll see the kind of person he is after this.” In Genji's experience, people reacted one of two ways when rejected, “He's either going to be obnoxious and then it'll be for the best that you rejected him, or he's going to avoid you. Which will kinda suck.”

Hanzo, in a rare moment of vulnerability, let his face contort in sadness. “But I don't  _ want _ him to avoid me. I-- why does this whole thing need to be so difficult?”

“Because Americans are weird and waaay too emotional. They act like getting rejected is the end of the world.” Genji shrugged. “Jesse seems like a really good guy though. I really think you should make sure he knows that you really just meant not yet. Just saying.”

“I will, I am intending to do something for him already. Ingrid told me that she would teach me to make apple fritters? I don't know if he would.. like them? They sounded good.” Hanzo rubbed the temple near his eyes on the right where his old glasses would have been as if to adjust them. They were in Brigitte's shop for the moment while she re-mounted them after a fluke corn on the cob incident.  _ That _ was a long story.

“I know he likes apples but I'm not allowed in the kitchen so…” Genji shrugged. “I'm sure he'll like them. I mean, did you see his face light up when you gave him that little coyote--”

“It's a  _ coydog, _ ”

“Whatever--” Genji groaned, “And what about the necklace! He wears it  _ everyday. _ ”

“So he does.” Hanzo was desperate for any conversation other than this one. “I suppose it's best that I don't go right now anyway. Please be careful, otouto. I  _ need _ you to come back.”

“Don't worry, Hanzo, I'll be back.”

“You had better be back or else I'm going to have to hunt down your ghost.” Hanzo sniffed, but turned around to face Genji rather than hiding from him in the mirror.

“Psh, you say that like I wouldn't haunt you to make sure you date Jesse!”

\----

Gabe went to get Jesse when Jack was ready to leave, finding the cowboy putting his muzzleloader back together. He carried it now after running out of ammunition for his beloved revolver years ago. Now that revolver hung on the wall in a wooden case, one Jack had made for it, next to a worn brown hat and faded red serape. The rest of his room was a mishmash of various things. Pots of shade-loving plants decorated a shelf next to little wooden figurines. The snake was new. Come winter, those shelves would have a light and cacti across them. Bullets littered the desk next to a gun cleaning kit and a few yellowed spiral notebooks.

“Don't figure this'll be worth much but it might buy someone time if shit goes south.” Jesse mumbled as he gestured to the muzzleloader, snapping Gabe’s attention back to him. The cowboy turned, pulled out a bag and handed it over. “Least your gun still works fine, right?”

Gabe chuckled as he accepted the handmade ammunition. Jesse had been casting him shotgun shells for years when the base's supply had run out. The benefits of having a former arms runner was that he came with valuable firearms knowledge. Sure, the powder wasn't smokeless, the shells sometimes failed and cleaning his guns regularly was a must, but Gabe wasn't complaining. Having not one but two working shotguns over a decade after the world had gone to hell was a blessing. “Yours does too, it's just slow. I think you reload faster than anyone else out here, though.”

Jesse shrugged as he screwed the last bits into place and checked the sights against the target over his bed then attached the rifle sling and swung it over his shoulder. He didn't particularly want to go, he wanted to stay back and go do something productive that kept his mind busy and not on Hanzo, but instead he had to go out and take care of this with Hanzo's brother as a constant reminder. He shook it out of his head. It wasn't even like they were dating. He'd just mistaken Hanzo being nice for flirting. He was just an idiot as usual.

His wanderlust was kicking up with an asinine intensity and his hands itched to go out and find something new to take a cutting of and bring back. Cherries, or maybe peaches. He stopped that train of thought quickly. “I've got everything I need, let's get moving.” Jesse sighed as he stopped to scoop up a leather messenger-style bag from beside the door.

As they walked, Gabe noticed that Jesse was more quiet than usual. He'd even taken the noisy bits off of his spurs. Gabe sighed. Jesse got weird about people giving him hell. Half the time, Gabe swore it was a miracle Jesse even interacted with anyone or stayed at all and he hoped that the disaster at lunch didn't run the cowboy off. It didn't seem like Jesse wanted to bolt, but Gabe knew that Jesse forced a lot of interactions. He always seemed happier when he was left alone to work or whenever he was near Hanzo. If Jesse’s momma hadn't been on base, there was a very good chance that Jesse wouldn't have stayed this long.

Jack turned from where he was packing a bag just in case they were out there while. Ingrid had provided them with snacks and quilts in the event that it took a while and Jack was very subtly trying to put the quilts away without her noticing.

“Now, all of you, take care out there,” Ingrid said as she took the quilt off the shelf of the shop and handed it to Jack again, much to his dismay.

Naomí always did hate when the groups like this went out and not only because they usually involved her son and she knew better than anyone he was wild and reckless. After what had happened at lunch, she worried even more. However, Naomí was a practical woman and she understood why they went out, especially with so many raiders nearby. She didn't have to like it, but she understood. So, she passed a handkerchief wrapped box of travel foods to Jack, to supplement the snacks that Ingrid had given them.

_ “Gracias,” _ Jack murmured before taking the box and handing it to Jesse. He wasn't a pack mule, they had young boys for that. “It shouldn't be much more than a snatch and grab, so we will be back tomorrow at the latest.”

Jesse made a face at Jack but an eyebrow raise from his ma quickly shut that down and he stored the box away in the bag at his side.

“You better be,” Ingrid grumbled, taking his ear lobe and tugging on it. “I have a bone to pick with you.”

“Yes ma'am,” Jack chuckled, batting her hand back. Both women received a cheek-to-cheek kiss before he pulled his pack on to his back. Now all they lacked was Genji.

“Be careful, mijo.” Naomí said with a pat to Jesse's arm. She would have hugged him but he had his jacket on and his jacket meant knives in at least 80% of his pockets.

“Yes ma'am.”

Genji was, as usual, late. Of course most of that was entirely because of Hanzo, but he'd take the blame for it this time. “Sorry I'm late! Couldn't find my shuriken and then when I did they were dull so I had to sharpen them.”

The older sibling trailed along behind Genji, following him as he tried to get ahold of the younger’s belt loop. Genji didn't have the traditional silk clothing that would have afforded him completely silent movement so the alternative had actually been offered by Ana. She had a set of silky chiffon black women’s pants that made little more than a rustle as Genji moved. The sniper, who walked in behind them, had honestly expected Genji to reject the offer. Obviously he hadn't.

Hanzo finally caught his younger sibling and tied a small paper envelope with Japanese script carefully written on the outside and a tassle to his waist. Then he turned, scanning his eyes over the group and landed on Jesse. He sheepishly wandered closer and tested the waters, pulling another envelope out of his pocket and separated the ties.

Since Jesse didn't instantly tell him off, Han reached out and slowly tied it around one of the available belt loops and sheepishly patted the envelope once it was securely resting against Jesse’s hip. “It's for protection. I hope it works… I'm not a monk.”

Jesse didn't know how to respond at first when Hanzo got close and then tied a little envelope to his belt loop. Then, he tried  _ really hard _ not to think about Hanzo's hands near his hips. Hanzo wasn't into him like that. It was fine. They could still be friends. All he had to do was keep his damn mouth shut and not say the first stupid thing that came to mind. He rubbed the back of his neck with a soft chuckle, “Thanks… I'm sure it will.” He had to bite back the urge to call Hanzo ‘darling’ like usual but he appreciated the gesture.

The lack of pet name didn't to unnoticed but Hanzo didn't want to mention it and throw Jesse off. The worst thing he could do was distract him right before the mission. “You won't need it, I'm sure.” Han returned the small smile, reaching up to adjust the collars of his shirt before catching himself in the middle of it. This would only confuse them both and make this more difficult… so he stopped. Hanzo pulled back and gave a bit of a bow. “Come back to me? And don't let Genji get hurt, please.”

“'Course not, but just in case, y'know?” He grinned slightly. Hanzo was straightening his collar and Jesse tried not to think about it. He also tried to not look disappointed when Hanzo pulled away. He just had to remind himself that Hanzo was probably just motherhenning him like he did Genji and it didn't mean anything. He just had to remind himself that Hanzo wasn't into him. God, it didn't make it any easier. Neither did Hanzo asking him to come back to him. Not us, not them. _Him._ He shook it out of his head. Hanzo wasn't into him like that. _It didn't_ _mean_ _anything_. “I won't, don't worry.”

“Alright you two,” Jack grumped from where he and the others were standing near the door. “Kiss or don't but we are leaving so hurry it up.”

Hanzo blushed darkly, eyes widening and then he looked at his shoes while pushing one side of the long bangs back over his ear.

Jesse frowned, cleared his throat and then stepped away. Damn it, Jack! Had the old man not listened at all? It wasn't like that. Well, maybe it was for him, but not Hanzo, and Jesse respected that.

The company began to march in silence with Genji in front to lead them all to where he had seen the gathering of raiders and Ana in the back near Jesse. They had chosen to go at night, or nearly night, since the cover of darkness would make their lives significantly easier. Out here, without the light pollution of a huge city, one could look up and see every spec of light in the cosmos. Ana loved it, voicing as much. “Jesse,” she called, watching above them but still making sure she didn't trip on any downed branches as they moved, “You don't honestly believe what he said, do you?”

He didn't want to talk about it. All their scheming had gotten him into this mess in the first place. Of course, then again, if they hadn't, he might have pushed Hanzo too far and ruined a good friendship so, maybe it was for the best. “Dunno what I believe,” He mumbled, staring at the ground, “But I ain't gonna push. He's a good friend, ain't willing t’ lose that.”

She felt for him, truly she did, but Ana was convinced that Hanzo was keeping his true feelings a secret and selling a lie. You couldn't fake the way you looked at someone and Hanzo looked at Jesse the same way Gabe looked at Jack. That wasn't one-sided and she knew it. The sniper moved back to watching for the movement of zombies through the black silhouettes of trees and mountains lit under a full moon. These two were slowly breaking her heart.

\--

Shortly after the group had departed, Naomí had turned to Hanzo and requested help with making tamales. She knew she wouldn't sleep well with her son outside the safety of the base and she needed to talk to Hanzo anyway. Besides, someone had to talk sense into at least one of these silly boys.

When Naomí called him to the kitchen with her, Hanzo had been more than happy to follow. “Hai, okasan.” He chirped, beginning to wash his hands and get ready to cook. “What are tamales?” He asked, trying to say them like she did and failing miserably. He didn't really know what he was doing or how to make them but he was certainly excited to learn. If Jesse's mother made them, surely he would like them.

“They are…” She paused as she tried to think of how to describe a tamale to someone who had never heard of them. How  _ did _ you describe them? She mumbled to herself in Spanish, trying to find the words that would translate well enough before finally giving up with a shake of her head. “They are tamales.” She finally said with a shrug and a smile. “You'll see, Mijo.”

He didn't quite know what that meant but he figured it would be like trying to explain what okonomiyaki was without a picture so he just nodded. Looking over the counter, he tried to figure out exactly what he was looking at. There was a large pot with broth that looked as if it had been strained, a large bowl full of prepped and seasoned meat that had been cooked from the large sow that they'd recently slaughtered, and a jar full of fat from other meat they'd cooked. Not to mention the bowl full of ground corn and a pile of husks provided by Jack. “I suppose I will have to wait and see then. I'm sure it will be good, Okasan.”

“It will. They are Ma-- Jesse's favorite for a reason,” she assured him. She still wasn't used to calling her son by the name he had chosen for himself. She knew why he did it, she knew it was to separate him from her in case anything ever went wrong in that gang he joined but even after all this time, it didn't stop habit.

Luckily enough, the language barrier changed the simple slip to something that sounded enough like 'uhh’ that Hanzo didn't catch it at all. “Ano.. Okasan, what should I do first?” He asked once his hands were cleaned and dry.

“Well, first I’m gonna wash my hands.” She remarked with a grin that must have been passed down to her son. “For shame, mijo, you’re making me look bad.” She moved to the clean ceramic bowl and began to pour the corn meal inside. “We’ve got hundreds of these husks so we’re going to use up all this meal. I don’t want it going to weevils. Take that pot of boiling water off the stove and pour it over the husks.” She pointed to one of the deep industrial sinks that had been filled with corn husks to the brim and smelled slightly of vinegar where she had softened them with the acid previously.

“Hai, Okasan.” Hanzo nodded, grabbing one of the pot holders so he could take the large pot of boiling water by the handle and its opposite side before wheeling it around to pour over the husks. “Should it cover them completely?”

“It should, yes.” She gestured over to the pipe that ran in through a window and connected them to the freshwater supply on the roof. “Fill it the rest of the way with fresh water. It should be more than hot enough to still soften it. Just lay the cutting board over the top to keep them under the water.”

He nodded again, dutifully following the directions and laying it where it belonged. “Now what should I do?”

“Come over here and I’ll show you the ratio for the tamales,” She waved him back to the large bowl where she had poured all the cornmeal inside. “Masa, at least the packaged kind we always bought when I was a child, was usually cut with flour to make it softer. That’s what we’re going to do here. I do it by feel. If it feels right, it is right.”

Hanzo had noticed that, as a child, the women in his life rarely measured what they were cooking. The better they knew the recipe, the more likely they were to just add in what they thought it needed. He didn’t question her running her fingers through the mixture to check that the flour to corn was correct. Nor did he question her using a wooden spoon to scoop out globs of lard from a glass jar and just throw it into the bowl. Then she turned to where she had a large jar of strained broth ready. “I like to warm up the broth because otherwise my fingers get cold. You’ve got to use your hands, if you don’t then the tamales won’t work. They know if you tried to cheat.”

He doubted that very seriously--there was probably some kind of heat-bonding at work which required the warmth of human hands even if he didn’t quite understand what it was. So he rolled his sleeves up to the elbow and shoved his hands into the mixture, grimacing as he did so and began to mix it. She insisted that he squeeze it through his fingers and scrape down the sides.

“Keep going, it’s gonna take a while to get it done.” She explained, pouring more of the warm broth over his hands.

It’d only taken a few minutes before Hanzo’s fingers began to fully seize up and he found it difficult to keep going. How could something so mundane as mixing goop could cause so much pain? “How do you know it’s done?”

“I just know,” She shrugged, “It ain’t done.”

Hanzo frowned as he tried to summon the strength in his hand to work through where he was starting to get cramps in the muscles. “How will  _ I _ know though?” He asked, looking up at her. “Because I will be making more of these, won’t I? How will I know if you are not here?”

“You can do the water test. Take a glass of water and drop a dollop in. If it floats, it’s ready.”

“And if it doesn’t float?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do I add more fat?” The thought process was that fat was lighter than water and would float more easily.

“Nah, add more broth. If it doesn’t float, it’s not ready. Keep adding the broth till it can’t take any more broth.” 

“And… how is that supposed to make it float?” Hanzo asked, pausing in the middle of squeezing the masa as he looked up at her. “Wouldn’t that make it sink?”

“It just works, I don’t know how.” Naomí waved a hand and pat him on the back slightly harder than was necessary. “Keep mixing, you’ve got a long way to go.”

_“Hai, Okaasan.”_

Naomí dipped her finger into the bowl of masa and continued adding broth while he mixed before she finally waved a hand. “It’s done.”

Out of morbid curiosity, Hanzo took a small ball of ‘batter’ and dropped it into the nearby cup of water. Sure enough, it hovered in the center for a moment and then floated surely to the surface. It didn’t make any sense, but he accepted it. Cooking was magic, let no one tell you any different.

“What now?” 

“Now,” She smiled and produced a pair of wide spoons from the drawer beside her, “We spread it.” 

Hanzo accepted his spoon and a fresh corn wrapper and sat it in his palm like she did, copying the way that she sat a dollop of masa in her palm and spread. It was thinner than he would have liked but he was getting the hang of it.

Naomí watched him work, giving a few tips here and there as they spread the masa and all the while contemplating how to get him to open up about Jesse. The first thing that came to mind was stories from when Jesse was young, little things that had no purpose. 

“You know, when Jesse was younger, he used to complain about making tamales.” She gave a warm chuckle as she spread another dollop of masa without looking down at it. “He hated doing everything except eating them. You are a much better cooking partner than he is.”

“Thank you,” Hanzo replied, managing to smear the masa all on his palm as he tried to get the hang of getting it all the way to the corners at the bottom without dropping the husk. She made it look so easy, but it wasn’t. “I hope he will enjoy eating these together with me. What do you do with the meat?” He’d never even seen a tamale before so he didn’t know what went where. “How did you make the meat? Will you teach me?”

If Jesse liked to eat them then Hanzo wanted to know everything that was required in order to make more.

Naomí beamed at how curious he was. “I’m sure he will.” At the questions about the meat she paused and another grin that must have passed down through the family, “Patience, mijo. When you can spread masa without getting it all over your hand,” She spread another without looking for emphasis, “Then I will teach you the rest.”

He looked her in the eye, bold as the day was long, and wiped his hand down the side of his pants where she could clearly see it. “What masa?”

The gesture earned him a hearty laugh, and she waggled her spoon at him in a playfully threatening manner. She genuinely adored this kid. She knew that Hanzo was interested in Jesse, she could see it as plain as day. She only wished that Hanzo would stop the ‘hard to get’ act before her son became convinced otherwise. A small portion that knew her son worried it might be too late already.

The train of thought was interrupted by Fareeha barging into the kitchen, grumbling to herself and then stopping at the sight of Naomí roping Hanzo into making tamales. She narrowed her eyes knowingly at Hanzo but Naomí quickly rounded on her and gestured to the already spread masa with her spoon. “Oh good! Fareeha, since you’re here, you can fill those for us.”   
  
Fareeha sighed and nodded. She didn’t particularly want to, but she knew better than to argue about it. So, she set to work with a sigh. At least it was something to do. She was still bitter about being left behind but she could no more argue with her mother about going on the mission than she could with Naomí about making tamales. Besides, if she helped, that meant that Hanzo might be able to surprise Jesse with tamales when he got back and the two of them might actually date.   
  
At least someone would get to. She sighed as she started spreading the meat out, making sure not to put too much while still filling them generously. She had her own love life problems but  _ hers  _ didn’t stem from silly boys that were too busy dancing around their feelings to admit them. Unfortunately she had a different problem. How did you show someone you wanted to date them when they only saw you as a friend, or possibly worse, as a  _ sibling. _ _   
_ __   
By the third tamale, Fareeha was antsy. “How do you get someone to like you?” She blurted and then covered her mouth as if she hadn’t meant to say it.

Hanzo looked up at her, mouth open and crooked into a half-smile as if he’d been considering making a joke about the whole thing but when he caught a glimpse of something on her face, he reconsidered it. She was serious about this question and he needed to be too… so he sat down the husk and answered it as honestly as he could.

“You can’t.”

He shrugged, taking another husk and began to methodically spread masa over it in an effort to do it in such a way that he didn’t get masa on his hand in the process. “Love is fickle like that, it can’t be forced or coerced in any way. There’s no method or formula to obtain it…” He watched that husk like it had become his entire world. “But there are certain tips.”

This time when he sat it down, his hand had remained clean. It wasn’t the prettiest application of masa, but he was learning. “Always be genuine with them, even if it feels like something false would be more attractive. Lies come out eventually. Always, _ always, _ be willing to let someone go. If it’s meant to be, they’ll come back. Best of all, if she cares about you she’ll be willing to wait for you and the same needs to be true for you.” Hanzo wasn’t blind. The way Fareeha looked at Brigitte was obvious to everyone  _ except _ Brigitte. “When you are comfortable with yourself  _ by _ yourself, love will find you… and if you need more time or security, love will  _ wait.” _

Fareeha blinked, pausing in dishing out the filling to listen. She didn’t know what to say to it at first. She hadn’t really expected something like that to come out, but then again, Hanzo did tend to think more deeply than almost everyone else on base. She stared at the unfilled tamale and then nodded, dishing out some meat into it. “I’ll...keep that in mind. Thank you.”    
  
She silently filled a few more tamales, thinking on the words before looking up again. Was Hanzo not comfortable there? She frowned. They had only arrived a few months prior and Jack was... difficult on the best of days. “Are you waiting for time or security?” Her eyes returned to the tamales, spreading more meat into a few she’d subconsciously underfilled.   
  
He didn’t look up, spreading the masa carefully as he did so. He’d unconsciously tipped his hand to the pair of them, and now Fareeha had picked up on the fact that he had no cards left to play. It felt like the air in this room had suddenly gotten infinitely thicker around him, tightening on his chest till it threatened to burst. 

“Security,” Hanzo finally admitted, placing the husk down beside the others before grabbing another so that he wouldn’t need to look her in the eye.

Fareeha frowned deeper, parts of her upset that Hanzo didn’t feel safe.

“He will understand, mijo.” Naomí reassured. She hated that she couldn’t tell him without a shadow of a doubt that Jesse would never hurt him, because she didn’t know her son like that anymore. Had it been years ago, before the death of Jesse’s father, before the omnics and the virus and the gang, she could have assured Hanzo that Jesse would never hurt him. That her son was nothing but soft smiles and harmless mischief that usually ended with him and his father hiding in the loft with too many cookies and looking like overstuffed pigeons. 

Now? Now she didn’t know where the soft smile would end and the barbed wire and sharp edges began. Where harmless mischief turned into murder he didn’t bat an eye at. She had been learning, slowly finding her way around the carefully composed masks that he’d unfortunately seemed to pick up from her but it was harder because Jesse treated her differently than others. She could always say that Jesse wouldn’t hurt her because he went to great lengths to insure the exact opposite, but with other people? She sighed. She just didn’t know anymore.

What she did know is that she’d taught him to be a good man to those he loved and if Jesse loved Hanzo as much as his lost appetite made her assume, then he would wait… or at least she hoped so. It had been a long time since she had seen Jesse smile the way Hanzo made him smile, or the way that he sought out Hanzo’s company even when he showed no desire to be within 100 feet of anyone else. 

“I-- I apologize,” Hanzo swallowed harshly, setting down the spoon and husk before backing up and giving a deep bow to the both of them. This long silence could mean nothing good. “I have overshared, I apologize, I must remember myself.” He stammered, setting the cloth down on the counter and turned away from them both to hurry out of the kitchen. He misstepped. He made a mistake. Something went _wrong._   
  
Naomí sighed softly as Hanzo suddenly spooked. Her face softened and she set her own spoon down, “Mijo. Oh mijo, wait.”

He only stopped because he respected her. When he turned around, it was obvious that Hanzo was afraid of them both and what this conversation would mean for him and his lack of security was even more evident than when Fareeha had noticed the code in his words. Here, just a moment of awkwardness, and he was running for the hills with his tail tucked between his legs. “Hai?”

Naomí gave him a gentle smile, thinking on her words. The look she gave him was worried and motherly, because she cared deeply for this boy, even if he and her son never actually got to be anything more than friends. Usually, she knew what to say but the usual words of comfort were hollow and she was trying to avoid promises she could only keep for herself but not guarantee of anyone else on the base.    
  
It was Fareeha that responded, rather than Naomí, “I’m sorry for overstepping, Hanzo.” She hadn’t meant to scare him, only to continue the conversation and understand why he acted the way he did. She didn’t even know what it was like to move from one settlement to the next because she had always been here, even before the virus. “It wasn’t any of my business to ask.” She bowed her head, looking a little bit ashamed. “Thank you for what you said earlier. It made me think. I don’t think I was doing enough of that. At least, not in the right direction.”

Hanzo did look extremely uncomfortable, rubbing his arm as he glanced between the pair of them with a tight expression akin to fear. Think about  _ what? _ What was the ‘right’ direction? “If.. If.. I promise that I will leave, will you let Genji stay on the base where it is safe? I won’t bother anyone. I’ll get out of the way and you won’t need to worry about any of this any longer.” He clasped his hands together in front of him, finally looking Naomí in the eyes. “Please, I need Genji to be safe. I’ll leave and I won’t bother your son any longer.”

Naomí’s eyes went wide and then a hand flew to her mouth, eyes misting, “Oh no. No mijo, you don’t--” She took a hesitant step forward, “Hanzo, no one here wants you to leave. Least of all me.” She kept her hand over her mouth but her face had contorted into something somewhere between guilt and hurt. “I can’t make promises for the others, but you and your brother will  _ always  _ be safe as long as I am around. No matter what happens between you and Jesse, I would not let anyone hurt you or Genji. You are very dear to me, mijo. So very dear.”   


“I’d be more worried about Jesse if he did something stupid,” Fareeha mumbled with an uneasy smile, “Between me and your brother, I’m not sure who would get to the shovel first.”   
Naomí shot her a withering look. This was  _ not _ the time.

“But--” He swallowed harshly,  _ “Why?”  _ He was uncomfortably leaning near the door as if he were about to bolt at any minute, but stayed only because she left too many questions and gave too few answers. “I can’t do anything you don’t already have… I’m another mouth to feed that causes problems and upsets the balance,” He swallowed harshly, “Jack doesn’t like me--”

“To be fair, Jack doesn’t like anyone,” Fareeha cut in.

“--but it still doesn’t make any sense. I haven’t done anything to deserve this. Genji  _ certainly _ hasn’t done anything to deserve this,” He swallowed around the lump in his throat, “What happens to me when your son moves on and everyone on this base realizes that we’re unnecessary baggage, here on the arbitrary whim of a man who would just as soon shoot us and fertilize his corn with our corpses? There is nothing I can do that someone else here isn’t already doing better than I could ever  _ hope _ to and what happens to me and Genji when the other shoe drops?!” He panted and then his eyes widened, jaw snapping shut so hard there was an audible click of his teeth.

Hanzo finally gave into the panic setting in, reaching behind himself to grab the handle and wrench it open so he could all but sprint down the hall to the room that he was sharing with Genji. He reached under the beds to grab their backpacks and start packing their things up so that they could leave the moment they were given an ultimatum. The last thing he wanted was for Jack to come back and find out about his outburst and not be prepared--he didn’t want to lose all his belongings or Yuki.

This was going to be a tense night for all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a steaming pile of disaster. Handsoap, your anxiety is showing.


	6. Chapter 6

Things were tense out on the ridge for entirely different reasons for the away team. They had gathered in pairs, except for Ana, and dotted just within eyesight of each other. Jesse had his muzzleloader propped on an outcropping, watching the ridge for movement. Genji sat next to him, peeking over the tops of the rocks.   
  
Ana was the furthest from him, kneeling and watching down her old scope. Jack and Reyes were vigilant but seemed to be chatting in low murmurs. Or at least, Reyes was. He shifted his weight, readjusting his grip. Everything seemed quiet.   
  
_ Snap! _ __   
__   
Jesse whirled almost instantaneously, rifle pointed up towards where a face would be in that range that it didn’t matter where he aimed, as long as he pulled the trigger.

_ “Hej hej! _ ’

“Goddamnit Brigitte, ya can’t go doin’ sh-- wait. You ain’t supposed t’ be out here.” His eyes narrowed.

“Who’s going to keep an eye on you if I don’t come?” She asked with a cheeky grin, kneeling down beside them so she could look over the ridge and stare down below. “What’re you even looking at?” Since she hadn’t been apart of the briefing earlier, Brigitte had no way of knowing exactly what they were looking at. All she knew was there were a lot of bandits down there and a warehouse that no-one dared to get close to. “It almost looks like they’re waiting for something.”

“We haven’t seen anyone go in or out this entire time,” Ana’s voice spoke from where she had moved silently in behind them rather than give her position away like Brigitte had. “It’s almost like they’re waiting for something to come out.”

“But what?” Brigitte asked, pursing her lips. It was a good thing she was too far away to just waltz up there or the Lindholm in her would try to knock in the front door.

Jesse shrugged, eyes not moving from the warehouse. He'd been there before and there was no one there. He passed through this area regularly and there hadn't been any signs of life. His eyes flicked to the raiders, then Genji. How had the raiders noticed someone in there and he hadn't? What if they were dangerous? His thoughts returned to Hanzo for a brief moment and then switched to Genji.

He could not-- No. He  _ would not  _ let Genji get hurt. Not even just for Hanzo’s sake, he liked the goofy younger Shimada and he’d never live with himself if anything happened to him. “Beats me,” he drawled out from around one of many apple twigs that invariably found their way into the corner of his mouth when he was outside the gates and away from safety. “Can’t make heads ‘r tails of why they’re actin’ so shifty.”

Brigitte hadn’t been able to take her eyes off this mysterious building in the center of the clearing, reaching out and shoving Jesse in the shoulder roughly when one of the raiders started to tentatively walk forward. “We might just find out,” She said, leaning as far as she dared over the edge to try and get a better look. He walked forward and reached for the knob, ripping his hand back a couple of times in fear before finally--

The reaction happened so fast that she could barely process it. He touched the knob and a brilliant spark of light erupted before it was over and the raider laid writhing on the ground. “What… just… What was that?” She breathed, turning to look at both the boys and then Ana for an explanation.

“That,” Ana whispered, “was something I haven’t seen in a very long time. He was electrocuted.”

Jesse tried not to let out a low whistle, so instead he settled for biting down hard on the twig, thankful that it was not one of the ones Hanzo had carved out for him or else he’d have snapped it in half. This one was a thicker one, stripped of its bark and used for stressful days or missions. Today was a two-fer. He worked the end of the twig before settling, “So...it ain’t what. It’s who. Fuck.” That was certainly a curveball.

“The amount of power it takes to electrocute someone like that is immense,” Ana stated softly, standing from her position just as Jack did the same. They’d have to completely rethink this before they could go in there. “This person, whoever they are, have some source of power and the technical ability to harness it in such a way that kills people.”

“Which means we have to extract them. They’re too dangerous to be allowed to fall into the hands of those raiders,” Jack grumbled as he jogged to close the gap between the groups. “We’ve got to get them before they get them. If they can produce that kind of current, they can reproduce it off-site.” He shared a look with Ana who nodded back. Something was going on here that they weren’t telling the younger generation and Brigitte was having none of that.

“Why does that make you so excited?” She asked, crossing her arms. “We can’t just go in there and  _ steal _ a person. That makes us no better than the raiders!” This whole thing just smelled fishy to her and she wanted to know what was going on.

“Let’s not talk about this here, Brigitte. We’ll come back once we have a plan to get in there without dying to the current.” Jack waved her comments away and waved over his shoulder for Gabe to come on. “We’re going to need rubber boots.”

Jesse was excited. Jesse remembered electricity and hot showers and god  _ damn  _ if they could bring someone home that could wire them up to get the latter, he’d be the happiest cowboy this side of the Mississippi...or any side for that matter. He tried to keep his thoughts off the idea of a hot shower with a certain elder Shimada.  _ ‘No. Nope, don’t do this to yourself, McCree. Don’t think about things like that. It won’t end well. Just move on.’  _ Hot showers. He was going to think about the marvel of hot showers. What if they could get hot showers with water pressure? And a recycling system? What if they could get hot showers in the winter?! “Count me in.” Jesse grinned as he pushed himself up and shouldered his rifle. 

The group turned back and this time, with the aid of possible electricity on the horizon, along with all the different ways Jack was going to tell Ingrid that Brigitte had come  _ anyway, _ they made their way to the base. It’d been an uphill climb there, so the downhill return was a welcome change in pace.

“‘M starvin’.” Jack mumbled to Gabe as they approached the tall walls of the Overwatch base. It’d taken them no less than an hour to get there and it was coming up on an hour getting back--along with staring at a warehouse that alluded to nothing save for a person inside for god only knew how long--and Jack was ready to eat and sit down. His feet were killing him. “I’m getting too old for this.” He mumbled, low enough that Jesse and Genji couldn’t hear it but loud enough to make it to his intended audience.

Ana nodded in agreement, she too was entirely too old for this. “Retirement was never in the cards for me, though.” She chuckled, pulling her rifle up higher on her shoulder as they tromped through the creek at the base of the hill and then began the trek up to the gate on the other side.

“I wish retirement was in the cards for anyone at this point,” Jack snorted, shaking his head. He didn’t know what he expected to find inside when he walked in, but he wasn’t surprised when there was no one there to greet them. There usually wasn’t. 

The benefits of Jesse’s chewing twigs were that they kept his mind off of more things than just his stress. They also kept him busy enough that his stomach didn’t bother him...most of the time. After eating so light at lunch, even the twigs didn’t do much to distract his angry stomach. However, seeing a bundle of flannel underneath the nearest apple tree did. His stomach dropped and he turned, almost on his heel to go investigate.

Closer, and his heart joined his stomach in that bottomless pit of dread that had settled in. Bags.  _ Bags _ . Oh no, those were Hanzo’s and Genji’s bags! No. No, why was he leaving?! Fear and panic swelled up past the dread. What did he do wrong, what had he--? Had he misjudged something when they left? He almost collapsed beside the bundle of flannel, unsure if he should say anything and worried that touching Hanzo might be the final straw. All the while, he racked his brain, searching for anything he could have fucked up that would warrant Hanzo leaving and finding nothing outside what he’d already known. Unless… his eyes glanced to the base. Reeha maybe? She certainly seemed like the type to give the ‘shovel talk’. Oh god they’d only been gone a few  _ hours _ and now Hanzo was  _ leaving _ .

“Did it keep you safe?” Hanzo’s voice filtered through the blanket. He slept so lightly when he did sleep, though it was rare on this base where he didn’t feel safe, but this had been their place. As the weather turned cool, Jesse had kept this flannel blanket out where they could use it under an apple tree for what had become the unspoken naptime… and now Hanzo was using it to keep warm while he waited for Jesse to return. “The omamori? Did it keep you safe?” He asked, more strongly this time as he resituated to lay his cheek on Jesse’s thigh and soak up warmth from him. The ground was cold, this time of year, and even with the blanket beneath him it managed to pull all the heat out of his limbs. Jesse was warm.

Jesse nodded, words sticking in his throat the first time Hanzo asked. When the question came again, he licked his lips and nodded again, but this time he managed to force out a, “Yeah. Yeah it did.” He tried not to let the reality of Hanzo being packed and ready to leave hollow out his voice but he couldn’t help it. He was going to lose Hanzo completely.

When Hanzo moved, Jesse rested his hand on the archer’s shoulder, rubbing a pattern there as if he were trying to focus in that and that alone. In truth, he was. In only a few months, Hanzo had brightened his world and now the archer was leaving. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe he could go with-- He grimaced. He didn’t want to choose. His mother was here. Most of his ‘family’ was here, but Hanzo… Hanzo was something special. He didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to stay here without Hanzo. A tremble ran down his spine as he waited for most of his internal organs to return from the abyss they’d plummeted into.

“And Genji’s safe?” He asked, yawning heavily against Jesse’s jean-clad thigh. He was just so  _ tired. _ He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, leaning forward to try and re-establish that touch. He just wanted to touch Jesse before they made him leave… he wanted to leave rested and feeling good… who knew how long it would be before he found someplace else to stay?

“Y-yeah. He was headed inside fer dinner.” Jesse nodded again, trying not to shake. Most of his mind was screaming, racing 100 miles an hour with no direction or purpose except to throw all those memories he’d thought were sweet into his face as mistakes. He’d fucked up. Why was Hanzo here? Why was Hanzo curling up on him like this if he’d fucked up so many goddamn times?! He rubbed the spot on Hanzo’s shoulder and focused his mind into with every fiber of his being, fighting down the tightening in his chest.

The fact that he was gripping tighter than what might be considered ‘normal’ wasn’t lost on Hanzo. It was taking him a moment to truly understand and process what was going on, having been woken from a nap to this, but it was slowly coming together for him. “I’m cold, Jesse. Have you eaten? You didn’t eat very well at lunch,” He murmured, starting to stand even with the arm around him. Maybe he could convince the cowboy back up onto his feet and moving if he got up first. “Let’s go eat.”

Jesse heard, but didn’t listen. He heard Hanzo say something but it was just noise, a jumble of sounds that could have meant anything, and then Hanzo was standing.  _ Leaving _ . Jesse let out a wounded noise and tugged at Hanzo. He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t-- His hands were shaking and he couldn’t help it now. Hanzo couldn’t leave. Jesse needed him here. He needed him. He didn’t care if they were just friends, he just-- He tugged again, a little harder. He needed Hanzo to stay.

Hanzo yelped as that final pull knocked him off balance. He reached out to grab the tree and also fall into Jesse’s lap for the effort of not kneeing him in the groin. “Oof!” It was a long way down and he’d landed more roughly on his already aging knees than he would’ve liked. “I just--” He sighed and gave Jesse a long suffering expression, reaching for his bag so he could search for a wrapped snack. “I just wanted to make sure you’d eaten.” Sure, peanut brittle wasn’t the most wholesome snack but it would get his blood sugar up and hopefully snap him out of this funk.

Jesse calmed a little with Hanzo in his lap, at least long enough to suck in a deep breath and hold it before breathing out. One arm stayed tight around Hanzo while Jesse curled and rested his chin on Hanzo’s shoulder, slowly working on the peanut brittle and tried valiantly not to get any on Hanzo. The shakes subsided slowly after Jesse had finished the confection but he still held onto Hanzo, now holding the archer with both arms and burying his nose against Hanzo’s shoulder.

This whole thing felt very… familiar and Hanzo just couldn’t quite put his finger on why. It wasn’t anything he imagined he’d be doing today, holding Jesse in his arms like a child and combing his fingers through the beautiful chestnut hair, but it was happening. Hanzo was actually part of the way through gently applying pressure to the bone just behind Jesse’s ears and the base of his skull when it dawned on him exactly what this was. An anxiety attack.

_ What? _

He hadn’t realized that Jesse had anxiety attacks, and further than that, what exactly had caused it? How could he ensure that it never happened again? He frowned, resting his chin on Jesse’s head as he worked his fingers to the muscle of his neck and shoulders. “What’s the matter? Why are you so upset?” Hanzo asked, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. Anything that could shake the man that had become his rock was something he had no desire to tangle with.

Jesse didn’t respond at first, relaxing into the touch as if it could solve all of his problems. Right now, they probably could. Then, slowly, he shifted and nudged the bag that Hanzo had just drug over to them with the toe of his boot. He didn’t want to think about it but even the idea that a bag that meant Hanzo was leaving being so close that he could touch it made his breath hitch and falter.

The bag? Hanzo looked back at his bags and then took them by the handles and with an almighty effort, he swung them across the grass one at a time until they had both been flung as far as he could send them from this position. “Is that better?” It wasn’t quite dawning on him  _ why _ the bags meant so much to Jesse but if he hated them, they had to go.

Jesse shuffled, face buried in the crook of Hanzo’s neck as if the man was his only lifeline. While that might have been an exaggeration, Hanzo was real and solid and here. At least for now, something cruel whispered in his head, bringing on another fragile sound and pressed himself closer.

“Come on, Jesse. You can’t stay sitting here like this,” Hanzo finally insisted, trying to pull away once more. His knees were  _ killing _ him from this position and Jesse needed to eat a real meal. Not to mention, he was freezing from falling asleep out here in the cold. “Up, up, I promise if you go inside and eat, I’ll let you cling to me after. I made tamales with your mother.”

Jesse’s arms tightened again when Hanzo began to pull away, but then as Hanzo continued, he relinquished his grip and slowly pushed himself up with a silent nod. He shuffled more than walked, but seemed to liven up the closer he got to the building. Of course, it was so no one else saw him in this state, they meddled enough. God, the shit he’d get if  _ Jack _ caught wind that he had panic attacks. He still wasn’t talkative though, because he didn’t trust his own voice not to give him away.

Hanzo reached out at some point of walking into the building to take the man by the hand and guide him inside with laced fingers. Let them talk, his priorities were to keep Jesse’s head screwed on straight. He’d have to go pick up his bags after. He walked right past everyone else, pulling Jesse along behind him. The only time Hanzo let go was to fix a large plate of tamales and then turn back to return his hand to the shell shocked man. Since he’d come here, Jesse had acted as a rock for him and now it was his turn to take care of Jesse… it was only fair.

Ana did not like the look on Jesse’s face when he’d walked into the room. Sure, it was enough to throw off the scent from the younger generation or Jack who just didn’t care, but she wasn’t fooled by it. Something had gone terribly wrong while they were gone, she just didn’t know what.

It didn’t fool Naomí either. The difference though was she was almost certain what had caused it and her heart ached. Even still, the look on Jesse’s face, past the mask that to anyone who knew Jesse well enough to know it was one wrong word or movement from crumbling, didn’t read like heartbreak. That had been earlier, before he left to go with the others. Before she made a terrible mistake. No, this expression was worse, one she’d only seen once, years ago when he had been young. Too young to lose his father, she’d always thought. A few more years and things might have been different. Different wasn’t always better though. At least Hanzo was there, coaxing Jesse to eat.

Now that the shakes had subsided and the worst had seemed to pass, Jesse took to the idea of Hanzo not being as physically close to him as possible a little better. Thankfully, regardless of how bad he was feeling, Jesse always had the stomach for his mama’s tamales. It was probably the only thing in the world he was guaranteed to eat, without fail. As he unwrapped his second tamale, he leaned over so that his and Hanzo’s sides touched.

As fully aware of the surrounding people as he was, Hanzo threw caution to the wind and wrapped an arm around Jesse’s waist and waited for him to eat enough to feel better and get more comfortable. Part of him wanted to get this gargantuan man laid down before they had a chance to send him and his brother packing… and part of him wanted Jesse to still be awake so he could stop them if they tried.

Jesse ate less tamales than normal, but enough that anyone watching him might stop worrying for at least a little while. He closed his eyes, head lolling forward with a small smile.

It didn't last long. Genji suddenly appeared, startling Jesse as hands fell on the shoulder closest to Hanzo.

“Hanzo, I need to talk to you,” he hissed, eyes wide. Genji wasn't sure what was going on but he'd gone to their room to change and found all of their stuff missing. Had something happened while he was away? Were they getting kicked out? Or was this another one of Hanzo's weird freak outs?

“Is this really the best time, brother?” Hanzo asked, teeth clicking tightly as he looked back to check on Jesse.

Genji glanced at Jesse who looked uncomfortably tense and frowned, “It'll only be a minute and it's important!” He might have teased Hanzo about interrupting date night but given the last reaction Hanzo had, he really didn't want to push and it end up hurting Jesse more. “Just real quick!”

“Fine--” Hanzo frowned, moving further from Jesse and letting go of his waist. “I'll be right back.” He promised, moving away so that he could follow Genji away where they could talk.

Jesse gave a soft sigh but didn't fight it like he had before. Just real quick. Hanzo would come back. Everything was fine.

With Hanzo away from Jesse, Naomí got up to go sit by her son. He glanced up, gave her a half-hearted smile and then returned to picking at the last tamale on his plate.

“Mijo, did you talk to him?”

He shook his head, and then took a bite out of the tamale, chewing slow. He'd rather not talk about this. He'd honestly rather not talk to anyone about Hanzo right now. Especially if he was leaving.

“You should try. It might do you both some good.”

How? Hanzo had already packed. He was practically as good as gone.

Naomí sighed as she looked Jesse over and then rested her hand on his shoulder. He had leaned forward, slowly eating his last tamale, “He cares about you, Mijo.”

Maybe that was the problem. Hanzo cared about him, Jesse knew that. If Hanzo didn't then he wouldn't have given Jesse the omamori, or been so concerned about him eating. Hanzo wouldn't have held him outside and tried to help him through his panic. Hanzo cared about him but was leaving anyway.

“He just needs time.”

Time for what? He finished the tamale and glanced over at her. Did she mean before? Before Hanzo had decided to leave? He shuffled uncomfortably again.

“Do you remember when you told me that you swore Jack would kick you out for looking at him wrong?”

Jesse's brow scrunched up. “Yes ma'am?”

“Don't you think others might feel that way too, sometimes?”

He blinked and his face scrunched up in confusion. Hanzo never acted like he was scared though, he always seemed like he was okay. He mother-henned Genji like crazy but the younger Shimada was reckless. It stood to reason that Hanzo would fuss over him. He stared down at his plate. What if Hanzo didn't feel safe? Was he to blame? No, Hanzo wasn't ever skittish around him, at least not that he'd ever noticed. He chewed his lip as his mama rubbed his shoulder.

“Don't give up, mijo. Just be patient.”

He turned, looking for wherever Genji had dragged Hanzo off to and finally settled on the brothers. Genji was talking animatedly, looking worried. From this distance though, he couldn't quite make out the words, so he turned back to his mama.

“Hanzo, our stuff is gone!” Genji whined. “What happened? Are we leaving? Does Jesse know? Are they making us leave? Why?” A flood of words fell from his lips as he tried to find out why all of their stuff was missing.

“I packed it,” Hanzo had the decency to look ashamed of himself. “I had an outburst earlier when I was here alone with the women, and I took it out on Jesse's mother. I made a mistake and when Jack finds out… I don't know what will happen. It's out on the lawn.” He chewed on his lower lip as he turned to look into the room. Naomí was talking to her son, it was only a matter of time before he found out.

Genji swallowed hard. He didn't think Naomí was the kind to get upset over something like that, but then again, he didn't know anyone here particularly well. He knew that Jack was a total hardass and that of the people in charge, Ana seemed the least likely to throw them out. “I don't think Jesse would let that happen.”

Hanzo grabbed his brother by the upper arm and pulled him further down the hall where no one might hear them, looking over his shoulder as if he were terrified to be heard. “I don't think Jesse is in any position to help us, Genji. You didn't  _ see _ him earlier. He was absolutely falling apart in my arms. How is he supposed to stand up to Jack? Or  _ Gabe?” _

“Wh--” Genji's face screwed up in confusion. “What's wrong with him? He was fine before we got back… or at least, sorta.” He shrugged. Jesse was as alright as most Americans were when they got rejected. “He seemed pretty excited towards the end, actually. There's someone in that building and they have  _ electricity _ . Like  _ a lot  _ of it.”

“After that… blow out with his mother, I packed all of our things and waited under the apple trees,” Hanzo explained, trying to keep his voice low enough they wouldn’t be heard and all the while flicking his eyes to and fro to keep a lookout for anyone coming. “He was a  _ mess _ when I woke up. I fell asleep out there and woke up to him falling over beside me.”

“I mean, he really likes you. If you were all packed up, and he thought you-- uh, we, were leaving…” Genji shrugged. He wasn't sure exactly to what extent Jesse was into his brother, but he had a pretty good idea. “I don't know…” He looked over his shoulder, “Is he okay?”

“I don’t--” Hanzo twisted his lips into a sharp purse, turning on one foot so he could look back toward the dining room. Hanzo had always been jumpy but that had subsided for the most part once they’d come here, but that was all back stronger than it’d been when they first arrived. He looked like he was ready for someone to walk up behind him and shank him at any time. “I’m not sure. You said you found someone with electricity?” If they could get their hands on someone like that, there was even less reason to keep the brothers around.

“Yeah, Jack wants to bring them back here, and Jesse was really excited by the idea but I don't know why… to be honest, I barely remember electricity. Well, a lot of it anyway. This place has probably had the most anywhere we've been.” He wrung his hands together. He didn't want to leave. Then, quietly, “Do you think Jesse would come if they did make us leave?”

“I don’t… know. I don’t think so.” Hanzo spoke honestly, chewing on his thumbnail all the while beginning to pace back and forth. “His mother is here, Genji. Why would he leave his mother and safety to come with us? We have nothing to offer him.”

Genji raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, looking Hanzo up and down. “You haven't been paying attention to the way he looks at you then.”

_ “No,”  _ Hanzo snarled, reaching out to shove Genji by the shoulders roughly. “I will not do  _ that _ purely to lure him from his home. They all think we are little more than whores, let’s not confirm it, hmm?” Genji did get under his skin like no one else could. “I’m going back in there. You would do well not to mention this conversation  _ ever _ again.”

“Ugh!” Genji lolled his head back, “Not like  _ that _ , Hanzo! He follows you like a  _ puppy _ . Seriously, when he's not around you, he's  _ different _ . Like usually all serious and like he'd rather be  _ anywhere  _ else.” He rolled his neck, fixing Hanzo with a deadpan look, “Seriously. It's super weird.”

The oldest Shimada stopped, looking back at Genji with a critical expression, “Do you think I hadn’t noticed that he’s different near me?” He asked, but from Hanzo’s point of view it didn’t seem favorable like it did to Genji. “You don’t remember Father, I realize that, but I  _ do.” _ He shook his head, gripping both hands close to his sides. “I would like to believe it’s all very innocent but we’re both still alive because I knew better than to believe anything was as simple as it appeared at first glance.”

“Okay but,” He held up a hand counting off on his fingers, “The  _ only _ other person I've seen him act that way towards is his mother, most of the time he stays away from everyone else on base, he goes out on those supply runs  _ all the time,  _ and doesn't he usually invite you?” He knew his brother was suspicious of a lot of things, but something just seemed different…

“He does invite me but I don’t go. If I leave, who would keep you safe?” Hanzo asked, raising an eyebrow. “When we got here, Jack pulled me aside and said that if we so much as  _ looked _ at someone on this base sideways he’d put a bullet in the back of our heads. Why would I trust them to take care of you when I’m not here? I don’t.”

“I know.” Genji sighed, “At least he's persistent? I think…” His mouth pulled to the side at Jack's warning, “I don't know what Jack's problem is. He's such an asshole.”

“He hates young men, as far as I can tell.” Hanzo frowned, crossing his arms and staring at his feet. “The girls can do no wrong but us? We are all trying to break something, steal something, hurt someone, or ruin something.” He shook his head and started to walk back into the other room before stopping and turning around. “Genji?”

Genji sighed and shook his head. He didn't know what Jack's problem was but it got old. Sometimes, he wondered if they would be better off somewhere else, but besides Jack, this was one of the best places they'd been.

He turned to head outside for their belongings and then looked up to his name being called, “Yeah?”

Hanzo wrung his hands together and then walked over to his younger brother, reaching around him to take a hug before it could be offered. He wasn't usually so touchy but it had been a rough day and Genji was one of the only people on this base he trusted to just hold him when he felt vulnerable. That's what family was good for. “I'm sorry. This is all my fault and I'm  _ so sorry,  _ Genji.”

Genji hugged him back and rubbed his shoulders. “We'll be fine. We always are.” He didn't trust Jack, but he liked to think that Naomí was better than that. After all, she was Jesse's mother and Jesse seemed like a pretty decent person.

“Once more into the breach,” Han mumbled to himself after gaining as much comfort from that one hug as he possibly could. He finally let go and turned around, heading back into the dining room where the rest of them were still sitting around the large table talking shop while the door closed behind him. He assumed that meant Genji had headed out to get their things.

“I think we need rubber boots and gloves,” Jack put forth, flicking his eyes to Hanzo when he walked in and settled into the chair beside Jesse.

Jesse wasn't really paying attention to the conversation about their mystery electrician. He was worn out and only there for the sake of appearances, plus, Hanzo had said he'd come back. He relaxed a little when Hanzo did sit back down beside him and Jesse wiggled his foot over to touch Hanzo's, offering a tired smile.

The archer glanced up and smile tiredly, reaching over and just taking Jesse's hand to hold before leaning on his other palm. “What do you know about this person? Anything?”

“Someone inside that building has the power to redirect enough electricity that it kills people. That's a valuable asset.” Jack explained even as Hanzo rolled his eyes.

“I.E., it would be a shame if it we're just a runaway A.I. What, if anything, tells you that it's a person and not just a security program with a sense of humor?” Hanzo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It's a shack. What shack has an AI that sophisticated?” Jack asked, utterly unamused by the way Hanzo questioned their observations.

“A government shack? I don't know. I just find it odd that they've had a living and breathing person in there this long and they haven't come out for food. My bet is an omnic.”

As much as he hated to upset the balance between him and Jack, the kid had a point. “It is a little odd. It's possible the place had food but we would have noticed someone in there before.”

“I've been in that warehouse, there was nothin’ in there.” Jesse added. “Least not til recent.” His voice was barely above a mumble, tired and drained.

“... 'till recent’?” Ana asked, leaning forward so she could hear Jesse better. “So whoever this is… is a new addition  _ and _ they've wired up a powerful enough generator to electrocute a person in that time?”

“Damn,” Jack mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

Jesse shrugged, “Could be, no tellin’ how long they've been there. Last time I went in that warehouse was a couple years ago. Used t’ use it as a place t’ rest if I was comin’ in late. 's got a… loft I guess ya'd call it.” He was leaned forward on his arms, head down. “Didn't fancy gettin’ shot by night patrol fer messin’ with the gate.” If the person had been really careful, they could have avoided detection and only been found out cause these raiders weren't from around here and tried to loot the warehouse. One ends up dead, the rest swarm like sharks.

“Have any of you considered just speaking to whoever is inside?” Naomí asked. “You have to get rid of the raiders anyway right? Perhaps they will be grateful.”

Jack had the good sense to look ashamed of himself at least, scratching his chest as he sat back and looked away. “...no, I hadn't.”

“Well,” Hanzo leaned back and rubbed his temples with the available hand that wasn't holding on to the tired cowboy. “If you did want to try diplomacy, you'll have to get rid of the opposition. What kind of numbers are we talking here?”

“I counted 'round 40… not countin’ the one that went and tried t’ open the door t’ the place.”

“Are you then proposing a hit squad?” Hanzo asked, doing the math on his fingers. Himself, Genji, Jesse, Ana, Gabriel, Jack-- just under 7 bodies each that they needed to drop.

“I'm not--” Jack hated to admit that he didn't know, so he instead turned to look at Gabe with a pointed expression. “What do you think?”

Gabe scratched the back of his head, ruffling his short curly hair. “Well, we were going to hit the raiders anyway, weren't we?” He shrugged, “We could wait it out, but the longer we wait, the more we risk whoever's in there getting hurt. If we split them up and draw them away from the building, they'll be easier to deal with.”

“Could always lure em int’ some traps.” Jesse added.

“Or,” Brigitte stood up from where she had been sitting at the side table away from the others. “You could consider the fact that Fareeha and I are capable fighters as well. If this person is as important as you're all acting like they are, I want to help.”

“Absolutely not,” Ana said before Jack could get any ideas.

“Don't really see the difference 'tween me or Reeha goin’,” Jesse mumbled softly. “Seems silly t’ keep leavin’ 'em here. Reeha goes on supply runs with me, but she ain't allowed to do stuff like this.” Brigitte was younger so he understood it but Fareeha was only a handful of years younger than him.

“Because she is my daughter,” Ana stated, “And while I have no control over what you do or do not do, Fareeha is something I have control over. As long as I live, she will not be forced to murder for 'the greater good’.”

“I'm not  _ five,  _ Mum!” Fareeha snapped, “I'm capable of helping. This isn't twenty years ago when everything was fine! Those people are a  _ danger _ to us. What if they let in more zombies, or come on base and are like that last guy?” She was tired of all the 'my baby’ this and 'purity’ that. “I'm an  _ adult _ , and  _ usually _ adulthood comes with people making decisions for themselves!”

Jesse raised his brows, mouth forming a silent whistle. Ana was gonna have his ass for spurring this on.

“This is wholesale murder, Fareeha. Why are you so excited to get out and  _ kill _ people?” Ana cried, her voice hitched up in anger as she stood up. “We are talking about a massacre as if I won't let you go to the  _ prom.” _

Jack's face twisted, looking at Gabe once more. He didn't know what to do. As far as he thought, they were both adults that could make their own decisions but Ana made a good point.

Fareeha was smart enough not to mention that she and Jesse had gotten into trouble once or twice and she'd already killed people. “I'm not  _ excited _ about it like it's  _ prom _ ! I'm looking at facts. The more people we have, the more likely we'd  _ win _ without casualties! I'm tired of you telling me to stay here like I'm some innocent kid that needs shielding. I can  _ help _ .”

She was lucky that Jesse took her along and had actually taught her a thing or two. After all, what if the base got overrun and she was left alone? Or she got separated? She knew what her mother was  _ trying  _ to do, but it wasn't a civilized world anymore. Sheltered kids were dead kids out here.

Ana sat back against the back of her chair with her lips set in a hard line. This whole thing was foolish and she despised Fareeha being anywhere near a fight like this--

“We will all be there too, Ana. She will be safe and.. she's got to learn sometime.” Jack coaxed gently. For once he was actually helping rather than letting Ana shut her down.

“I--” Ana frowned, standing up, “I don't get much of a choice here, do I?”


	7. Chapter 7

Gabe furiously scrubbed at his hands, then his face. He'd started coughing earlier. Just a small one. He'd blamed it on seasonal allergies but Gabe didn't  _ get _ seasonal allergies. He'd never had seasonal allergies. Maybe it'd be okay still. He was SEP, maybe he'd just get a little ill and then he'd be fine. He just needed to keep his distance from everyone until then. No big deal.

He dried his face on a towel, and then pulled at his eyelids, checking his eyes and then sticking out his tongue to check his mouth. Were there initial changes? He shook his head. SEP had made him immune to most illnesses. The omnics had made it for normal people. There was no way it could combat a supersoldier's immune system or rapid healing. He'd be fine, probably just get a little fever like when he and Jack had accidentally been exposed to anthrax while on a mission together. If they could survive inhaling anthrax, then he'd survive this. No need to worry everyone.

“Gabe, are you ready?” Jack called from the other room where he was finishing buckling the remaining biotic grenades to his waist. He wasn’t planning on letting this go down without them because if one of those kids got shot out there, none of their mothers would let him live it down. God help him if he let the older asian kid get shot, Naomí would kill him  _ twice. _

His husband had been in there for a long time and Jack was starting to get worried. After tucking his shoelaces into his boots, Jack walked in behind Gabe and looked at him in the mirror over his shoulder. “Is everything ok? Got a pimple, pretty boy?” The man grinned cheekily, walking closer to wrap his arms around Gabriel’s waist and give him a squeeze.

Gabe snorted and shoved playfully at Jack's face. “Jackie, you and I both know I've never had one in my life,” and then, more slyly, “And SEP wasn't my miracle cure.”

Jack leaned further around and playfully bit his ear before tugging on it. “Shut up, you.” He smirked. The man Gabriel knew here between the two of them was drastically different than what everyone else saw. Jack was fun to be around when it was just the two of them. It was almost as if he lost 20 years when they were alone. “So what’s the matter then, huh? More gray hair? I like the gray, you know.” He grinned, nuzzling into the thick curls on the back of Gabriel’s head.

“They make  _ me _ feel old.” Gabe whined, thankful for an easy out. As if on cue, he caught a glimpse of a silvery strand near his ear and plucked it, waggling it at Jack. “I'm not sure I can rock the salt and pepper.” He brushed a hand over his goatee with a frown, trying to keep from breathing on Jack too much, just in case.

“You’re still the most handsome man I’ve ever seen,” Jack hummed, kissing the tanned skin that peeked up just above the collar on Gabe’s shirt before letting go. “But, you’re also the last person out the door every damn time we do anything. Come on! We were supposed to roll out 20 minutes ago.  _ Vamos!” _

Gabe chuckled, casting one last look at the mirror under the pretense of 'looking for grays’ before hurrying out behind Jack.

The strike commander walked out easily to where the rest of their group had gathered up in front of the main gates. Hanzo was going on this one, as well as Fareeha and Brigitte. Jack didn’t like how they’d had to strong-arm Ana into letting it happen, she’d always been a good friend to him so this didn’t feel right, but he was glad to have another set of eyes. Brigitte was holding her home-made steel tower shield on one side and a spiked mace on the other. Out of all of them, she actually seemed the most out of place because on her back was a backpack emblazoned with the red cross of a medic… and here she was swinging a  _ mace. _

“Alright, are we all ready?” Jack asked, not missing the way Ana raised her eyebrow and kept fussing with Fareeha’s second-hand ballistics vest. It seemed the taller daughter was getting to wear one of Ana’s spares, and it showed since it didn’t quite cover the midriff.

“Ready as any of us will ever be,” Gabe teased good-naturedly, “You made me miss one, Jack. I saw it on the way out.”

Jesse was probably the least ready. Intrusive thoughts would gleefully shove themselves into the forefront of his mind, haunting him with things like the idea of Hanzo leaving. He hadn't seen any further indication that Hanzo might, but now that it was even the slightest possibility, his stupid brain was having a heyday with it.

He lingered close to Hanzo, trying not to intrude on the archer's space. At least, not without permission. He wished he could just sweep Hanzo up and snuggle with him, or even just sit shoulder-to-shoulder like Reyes and Jack. He stared down at where he was fiddling absentmindedly with one of his apple twigs before sticking it in his mouth. ‘ _ Don't make things weird with Hanzo,’  _ he reminded himself for the millionth time since Hanzo had expressed disinterest.  _ ‘Just be his friend _ .’ Ha. What was he even talking about? He'd already made it weird, having a fucking attack under one of the apple trees. Hanzo had taken care of him, because he was a good friend, but Jesse bet that Hanzo would be gone as soon as this run was over. Just the thought made his heart sink.

The archer had taken up a position beside him, currently working on fletching another arrow while he waited. He had a small carving tool to put the signature curved fletching on his arrows so they would spin in flight and carry further. “What are we waiting on?” He asked, looking around.

“Gabe was scared of gray hairs, as usual.” Jack grumped with a trace of his previous good humor. He even went so far as to smile, which shook most of the younger kids in the group because it wasn’t normal for them. Knowing Jack had to have something Gabe liked enough to marry was one thing, seeing him smile and crack a joke all the while standing with his shoulder pressed up to Gabe’s was something else. “We’re ready whenever you all are ready.”

Han glanced up at Genji, checking him over for the millionth time as he set the partially finished arrow back into his quiver. “You have enough shuriken?” He asked, checking the ammunition pouch with a single pat. It seemed rather full. They’d gone to great lengths yesterday to sharpen up his katana and wakizashi, but that didn’t mean Hanzo wasn’t concerned. He’d taken the day before to carefully cut Genji’s hair short again so it wouldn’t get in the younger’s eyes while he worked.

As for him, the girls had had a field day with the long black hair. Brigitte had braided it into something he imagined must be norse in origin while Fareeha took great joy in adding the feathers he used to fletch to the ends of some of the braids. He felt ridiculous but at least his hair would stay secure and out of his eyes.

“I’m ready!” Brigitte announced, beaming widely at the whole group of them. Ana wished she had the energy this girl did.

“Alright then,” Jack spoke as he unlocked the front gate and opened it up for the rest to pass through. “Let’s get moving then, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

The op would be simple enough. Ana was to stay in back manning the walkies. Each group ran a different frequency and she would be switching between them. Since the raiders had set up in camps around the warehouse, it only made sense to come in the dead of night and try to take them out as cleanly-- _ and quietly-- _ as possible. Hanzo, Jesse, and Brigitte would be on one team. Jack figured that Jesse was the most likely to need medical attention with his head up his ass like it was. Genji, Fareeha, and Jack would be on another. Ana would kill him if anything happened to her daughter and this way, Jack could keep a close eye on her. Gabe was a unit on his own, which was how he liked it.

Jesse was relieved when Jack assigned him to a team with Hanzo. Less so when Brigitte was  _ also  _ put in that team, he'd have preferred Genji but whatever. He'd just keep his head down and if she tried to chatter at him, he'd politely remind her they were trying to be  _ quiet _ .

Genji, on the other hand, was bummed about  _ Jack _ being on his team. Seriously. He did  _ not _ want grumpy old dude, much less grumpy old dude that would probably be so busy hounding Fareeha that he either wouldn't notice, or wouldn't care, if Genji got hurt. After all, why should Genji trust him when he'd threatened his brother? He checked his shuriken, and then promptly decided that he shouldn't rely on Jack to come for him. He'd just need to be completely on top of everything today. No mistakes, no stupid tricks, just get in, kill everyone and get back to his group before anyone noticed. Easy. They were just raiders.

Best of all, Jack couldn’t give a  _ flying fuck _ who was on his team because every last one of them was a liability. He took his position as point with Gabe and started to march back to where they left the warehouse the day before. With some luck, it wouldn’t be completely abandoned.

“Chin up, Jack,” Ana commented, though he detected a heavy measure of sarcasm. “At least  _ you _ don’t have to worry about your child dying.”

“I get it,” He grumped back, “I  _ get _ it, Ana, but she’s an adult and she made her decision. I respect that. It’s her life. I’ll be there to back her up.”

Brigitte sighed as she fell into line beside Fareeha, throwing her shield onto her back to make it easier to carry for the long tromp through the woods. “I hope no one gets hurt.” She mused, glancing up at Fareeha to see if she was listening.

“Me too,” Fareeha agreed, shuffling her rifle around in her hands. She honestly wondered how most of them were going to do this quietly. Hanzo and Genji would be easy, they were the very definition of stealth. Well, okay.  _ Hanzo _ was. Genji was… Genji. 

Jesse could be silent and stealthy, but ever since the fiasco at lunch a few days ago, he'd been acting weird. Weirder than usual. Gabe was a one-man army. No one worried about Gabe. She suspected Jack and Genji would be doing most of the killing on her team. Besides, she could just watch their backs. Hanzo would probably be the heavy lifter on Jesse's team, especially with Jesse acting so weird. Even now, he was staring ahead with a tired, neutral expression. He was usually more lively.

Jack began to hum an old marching tune under his breath, bumping into Gabe’s shoulder here and there as they walked. Each time they made the trip, it seemed shorter and shorter. Lo’ and behold, he felt like he’d barely made it through his first few songs when they crested the hill and there was the raider camp laid out in the valley below. He let out a breath of relief. Lucky for them, the warehouse was still in one piece.

“Alright, Ana, How do you propose we do this?” He asked over his shoulder. She’d already taken out her scope and was looking through it down to the camps below. It had only been a few days since the first time he’d seen it but they had actually built up a bit of defenses… and it almost looked like the band of raiders were defending from each other. That was good, they could use that to their advantage. If they didn’t trust each other, they were less likely to come to aid someone else who was being attacked nearby.

“This camp closest to us is the least protected, send Gabe in there.” He was a one man army, but he was still only one man. “That camp over there seems to have medium defenses, your group goes in there. Send Jesse to the other camp across the way and then everyone converges on the large camp. It should be simple.”

Nothing was ever simple.

“Alright then,” Jack hummed, checking his rifle and making sure he had plenty of clips ready. “Seems like a plan.”

Gabe wrapped his arm around Jack's middle with a cheesy grin, “Any chance of a goodbye kiss before I die of old age?” He tapped his cheek gently, “Or for good luck, maybe?

“What am I going to do with you?” Jack asked, smiling some as he cupped the other’s face and gently rubbed his thumbs against those cheekbones. He considered going the extra mile and really laying one on him but… well, there were kids present. Thirty-something-year-old kids, but kids regardless. So instead, he opted to gently lay butterfly kisses against his cheek and press a lingering kiss just beside Gabe’s lips. “Does that work?”

The archer let out an uncharacteristic whoop of joy, jumping and punching the air before squeezing Genji tightly around the shoulders.  _ “Watashi wa tadashi!” _ He hissed as quietly as possible, though it was still shrill, squeezing his brother tight enough to threaten suffocation all to the embarrassment of Jack. As soon as he let go of Genji, he glanced back over his shoulders with a bashful smile. “Uh… Do you think they heard that?”

Ana turned back from where Jack was still making a scene, and sighed. “I hope not.”

Gabe chuckled, seeming to be very pleased with the outcome, and nuzzled against Jack’s neck and shoulders, “It'll be fine. They'll probably just think one of their own was drunk or something.” Grinning, he planted a somewhat obnoxious kiss on Jack's jaw and then pulled away. “Should probably get down there before they get smart though.”

Genji watched as Gabriel turned and loped down the ridge, melting into the darkness as he slipped through any and all available cover. If he didn't know by better, he would have just assumed that the man had the ability to become invisible, but trained eyes could pick him out when he moved, until finally he appeared at one of the tents on the very outskirts of the camp, slipped inside and then a few moments later, reemerged as if nothing was wrong at all.

“Come on,” Jack grumped. The man who had just literally swept Gabe off his feet was long gone and the cranky old man they’d all grown to hate was back. He smacked Genji in the shoulder and gestured to their camp while pointing Hanzo off toward where his group was supposed to go. “No more gawking, we’ve got work to do.”

The older brother had a few  _ choice _ things he’d tell Jack but in the interest of having this mission go off without a hitch, he kept them to himself. “Come, Jesse.” He called, pulling his bow and an arrow in preparation before setting off down the hill. Brigitte was quick on his heels, struggling to retrieve her shield in time.

Jesse nodded, and shouldered the muzzleloader he wouldn't need but had carried anyway in case someone was in need of a distraction. Nothing like a bright flash and a plume of smoke to get someone's attention. He sucked in a breath to get his head in the game and then jogged to catch up with Hanzo and Brigitte.

Genji frowned at Jack the entire way down the ridge towards their camp. Asshole. Genji didn't get what Gabriel saw in Jack. So the guy could apparently literally sweep Gabriel off his feet and occasionally found a thirty second “sense of humor” buff. What about the rest of the time? He was still a raging asshole and Genji frankly thought Gabriel had better taste than that.

When they were closer, Genji split off from the two. Well, mostly. He stayed closer to Fareeha, because realistically, she was the one he trusted to come after him. Granted, Fareeha was staying close to Jack so by proxy, so was Genji. At least, for a little while.

Clearing the camp was going too slow for his liking so, upon entering a tent to find its occupants already dead, he decided to get further away. It wasn't like Jack would notice anyway. 

Split off from the other two, he was able to work much more effectively, marking his tents by killing the soft glow from inside before covering the raiders’ mouth and slitting their throats, muffling the soft gurgle before moving on. One by one, the tents went dark on his half of the camp.   
  
Everything was going smoothly, not even a muffled yell to give him away. He had a slight bounce in his step as he crept toward the last of the tents, slipping into the nearest one and then stopping and staring as a raider stared back. Genji’s mouth dropped open and then he was moving one finger going to his lips as he drew and, in a display his brother would likely have given him absolute hell for, threw his wakizashi. 

It imbedded in the raider’s throat and with a shaky sigh of relief, Genji put out the light and sunk to the ground to calm his nerves. His heart was just about beating out of his chest and it took him a moment to calm down enough to retrieve his blade. He wasn’t sure if Hanzo would have killed him for throwing his sword or commended him on thinking fast enough that the raider didn’t wake everyone up.

The last few tents went as smoothly as the others, minus that  _ one guy _ that probably drank too much coffee or something. Genji didn’t want to consider other reasons why the guy might be awake at such a weird hour. There were  _ a bunch _ he didn’t want to consider.   
  
He scaled to a higher vantage point, an old dented shipping container that gave him tetanus just looking at it and checked that their camp was clear. It looked like somewhere along the way, someone, possibly Jack, had picked up turning out the lights in the tents and most of them seemed to be out. He climbed down as another one went dark and headed for the main base. He could get started while the others caught up.   
  
_ ‘Damn,’ _ Jack thought as he finished bashing the back of a sleeping raider's head in and putting out the light before walking out. The kid was fast and fucking efficient, he had to give him that. Genji had made quick work of the camps in front of them and, after a quick call back to Ana, he found out Hanzo was doing the same on his side. He couldn't fault them for their technique but the teamwork could use a bit of finessing. Sure, he could be the best shot or stealthiest ninja around but if he stepped in some shit alone then it would be nearly impossible to get there in time to save his life. That's what a team was for and that's why it was important to stick with them. 

He turned around in time to watch Brigitte slam her shield into an approaching raider on either a patrol or an ill-fated potty break so hard it actually stunned him long enough for her to almost rip his face off with the business end of her mace. Jesus fucking  _ Christ.  _ After Hanzo left his team in the dust, she'd gotten bored and come over to help him. He suspected it was so she could be near Fareeha. Having them both together certainly made keeping an eye on the girls easier.

“Ana, update?” Jack called over the radio. Gabe had left his camp lit but Jack had doubled back where he and Brigitte had gone to put the lights out after he noticed both Hanzo and Genji doing it. He was just upset that it hadn't been his idea.

“Looks good. Hanzo has set off for the largest base, I figure he's got a few minutes eta. I haven't seen Genji.” Ana relayed back, still looking down scope from her prone position on top of the far hill.

“This is going well,” Brigitte chirped in Fareeha's direction.

“Shhh!” Jack growled, waving a hand at them, “Don't  _ say _ that shit! You're gonna jinx it!”   
  
“We’ve already cleared  _ three  _ camps, Jack,” Fareeha teased. “And we basically have three ninjas on our side. It  _ is _ going well.”

Ordinarily, Jack would have lectured her. He would have brought up stories from the good ol’ days or mentioned all the ways this could still go terribly wrong but, as fate would have it, the worst that could happen  _ did. _ An alarm started up on the biggest camp. At first it was just a ringing and then it was accompanied by yells as it begun to wake the raiders inside and his blood ran cold. Someone was in there and they had been spotted. Worst of all, they were alone.

“Ana who is it? Who tripped the alarm?” Jack demanded, already running toward the sound.

“I don't kno--” He cut her off to broadcast across the shared frequency.

_ “Sound off, goddamnit!” _

_ “Hai, Hanzo reporting.”  _ The oldest Shimada was the most reliable on comms and God, did he love that about the kid.

_ “Wasn’t me,” _ Jesse drawled.  _ “I ain’t nowhere near that base.” _

“'Reeha and I are literally right behind you.” Brigitte said over the line, producing reverb.

_ “I’m here, Jackie. Was heading back to meet up.” _

_ “I'm still up here on the hill.” _ Ana checked in before turning her frequency to the one Gabe would only be on. “Gabriel, your husband is running toward that alarm. He is fixing to do something really stupid.”

“Why am I not surprised?” He mumbled before changing direction to go after Jack. Super-soldier or not, that was a lot of raiders to take on alone. Why couldn’t anything ever just go smoothly for once? 

_ ‘It’s Genji. It has to be Genji. _ ’ His mind was running a million miles a minute. He passed raiders making a run for the warehouse and just kept moving because that warehouse had suddenly taken a back seat to what was happening in the biggest camp. This was the only camp that had any structures on it that were more than just tents and a few fortifications. He was at a disadvantage and he was running in the face of his own advice but  _ goddamnit _ one of his kids were in there alone, possibly injured, and he was gonna get them out.

He flicked his radio to the frequency that he, Genji, and Fareeha had been on and considered calling for Genji over it but stopped himself. Say Genji was fine, if he was hiding the walkie could give him away. However, if he was injured and Jack couldn't find him, it could also get him killed. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

There was no time to think, only to react. He walked right up to the front door and Sparta kicked it down, praying that the noise would give Genji an opportunity to get free. “I've got them in my sights.”

It had been a long time since he'd fought like this--Gabe was always the infiltrator but Jack had been the one that kicked the door in and drew attention. Turns out, it was a bit like riding a bike. “Genji!? Genji do you hear me!?”

Not likely; not over the gunfire. Shit, that kid was so young. He didn't want to have to bury a kid that young.

Gabe swore as Jack did what Jack did best, but god damn if it didn’t set his nerves off every time he did. He was a bit more careful about going in, snapping necks of anyone with the misfortune to come across him and saving his shotgun rounds for when he’d  _ really _ need them. Which was probably about the time he’d find Jack. As another raider slumped to the ground with their head facing a direction it likely shouldn’t, Gabe checked his shotguns just to be sure they were loaded. Both loaded. Both ready. Strange that he was about to go do what Jack did best. First time for everything, he supposed.

  
When Jack had come across the last raider in front where he had entered, rather than just killing him outright, he hit him with the butt of his rifle  _ hard _ and dropped the man to the ground before hauling him back up with super soldier strength. “Where did the alarms originate?!” 

“I don't--”

He pulled the man from the wall before slamming him against it again.  _ “Where!?” _

“The ammunition room! In the very back!” He made a few feeble efforts to get free of Jack but it turned out Gabe wasn't the only one capable of screwing a head on backwards.

The ammunition room in the back. That was likely the main structure that this camp was built around and once Jack had a heading, all bets were off.

“He's heading toward that back room, Gabe.” Ana called over the radio just as Jack disappeared through a door and out of her scope. She just hoped he didn't find anything big inside.

“I’m on it.”  _ ‘Damn it, Jack! Let me catch up! Stop charging in alone, you idiot!’ _

“Genji?” Jack called, unable to help the edge of fear in his voice. “Kid, where are you? Please, kid. Make some noise. Let's go home.” He was scared. Jack was utterly terrified that, when he walked in and didn't see a bunch of dropped bodies and a ninja making fun of his silver hair or cranky 'tude, it meant the ninja was dead. “Please, bud, let's go home.”

_ ‘I don't want to bury this kid. Please, God, I don't want to bury this kid.’ _

Genji heard something, or… someone? Was it another raider? Was he going to die? He shuffled feebly further back in the corner he’d hidden himself in. He was lucky raiders weren’t as thorough as most but how long until his luck ran out? His vision was blurry, and he couldn’t quite think straight. There must have been poison… or something, in that dart. He’d been so stupid and cocky, thinking this base would be as easy as the last.

_ ‘...bud, let’s go home.’  _ Was that Jack? Who was he talking to? Gabriel? Were they going to leave him here? He blinked and shook his head feebly, trying to fight off whatever had been in that dart. For all he knew, if he passed out, he might never wake up again. He whimpered at the thought, fingers going for a shuriken. Maybe if it was Jack, he could get his attention. His fingers fumbled with the clasps and he groaned softly when he couldn’t quite get it open. Probably for the best he realized as the fog cleared for a moment. He’d probably cut off a finger on one.

That whimper, to Jack's sensitive and alerted ears, was enough. He rounded on his heel and saw just the edge of Genji's borrowed clothes tucked away under one of the racks where it had been barely large enough for the small-framed Asian to slide underneath. He nearly deflated as relief hit him in a wave. “Genji,” Jack called, sinking to his knees to gently extract the kid and pull him out into the light. “There you are.”

Genji made a confused noise and weakly fought at the hands trying to pull him out until Jack spoke. Why Jack? He stopped fighting but he was confused. Why would Jack come for him? Where was Gabriel? He blinked up at the old soldier as Jack scooped him up gently into a princess hold.

“Come on, kiddo. I've been looking everywhere for you.”

“Wh-- why?”

Jack looked confused too now, slowly hauling him to his feet and cradling Genji tight so as not to lose him again. “Because I didn't want you to get hurt. I heard the alarm go off and I was scared.”

Jack… didn’t want him to get hurt? Genji’s face screwed up in confusion, “I… I thought you--” He paused for a moment as the movement from Jack getting up made him a little nauseous, then quieter, “I thought you hated us… why save me if--” He just didn’t understand.

“Listen,” Jack's voice was strained. “When I heard that alarm, the only thing going through my head was the fact that one of my kids had gone down behind enemy lines and I had to find a way in there to get them out.” He swallowed heavily. “I farm and hunt and build because I want to provide a standard of living where  _ my kids _ can feel safe. If you think I-I  _ hate _ you then I'm  _ clearly _ not doing that well enough.”

  
Genji found himself apologizing before he could stop it, trying to hide his face. He’d messed up and the alarm had gone off, and now everyone else was in danger. He hadn't quite caught on that Jack meant him too when he emphasized ‘his kids’, and apologized again. He’d put Brigitte and Fareeha in danger, “But… you always look at us like we’re doing something wrong and Hanzo said you--” The words cut off as he shrank a bit, “Hanzo is scared you’re going to kick us out, and… I-- I’m scared too.”

The world shifted as Jack fell against the nearest wall in an effort to stay on his feet as a wash of memories came over him. Fear. He remembered being afraid of his dad. Being the gay kid living in the house of an avid church-goer in a red state, Jack had always been afraid of his dad. There had always been a fear of getting thrown out at any time. Always looking over his shoulder and wondering if his parents really cared or not, wondering if he was just a liability to them.

_ “No.” _

He had to physically pull Genji out of his hiding spot so he could look the kid in the eye because this was important. “Your spot in  _ my family _ is not  _ negotiable,  _ Genji. You're here and I would die to ensure that you and your brother live because you're  _ my kids.” _ He shook his head. When was the last time he'd cried in front of someone who wasn't Gabe? “What I told Hanzo when you both first got here stopped being important after the first month. I… I thought you both knew that.”

The first month was when Jack had scrapped together enough furniture to furnish a room for them.

Genji looked away at first when Jack uncurled him to look the old soldier in the eyes and then he apologized again. This time for misunderstanding him so badly. He offered Jack a weak smile, trying to come up with something to say but instead settling for putting his arms around Jack’s neck for a good long hug. He was pretty sure they both needed it anyway.   
  
When he pulled away, the smile was a little brighter. He opened his mouth to tell Jack that he was actually doing a great job keeping everyone fed and safe.   
  
_ Crack! Thud. _ _   
_ __   
“Jackie, you really need to watch your six, better. You almost got--” Gabe stopped at the slumped set in Jack’s shoulders, “Jack? Is everything okay?”

“The…” Jack swallowed thickly, “The kids are scared of me, Gabe.” He almost sounded  _ small. _

“Well I mean, I’m not… anymore.” Genji reassured.

_ Oh. _ Gabe’s face fell as he hurried over to where Jack had curled around Genji. He always knew a lot of the kids around the base thought Jack was a hardass, and most of the time, in his stubborn determination to keep them all safe and comfortable, he was. He hadn’t known that any of them were  _ scared _ of Jack. He wrapped his arms around Jack, pulling his husband close and squishing Genji between them in the process.

The hug was fantastic, and  _ God _ did he need it, but the sound of Ana calling over the radio in alarm as the warehouse they had all come to see went up in flame really caught his attention. “Gabi, we gotta go.” Jack reminded, stubbornly trying to keep himself at least somewhat together here as he pushed off from the wall and started carting Genji out. They had to get in and save whoever was in that warehouse or else all this was in vain.

Gabe nodded and unholstered his shotguns. Snapping necks wasn’t going to cut it this time. He needed to get Jack and Genji back to the others quick and Jack had his hands full. “Don’t worry, Jackie. We’ll make it.”

Jack hoisted Genji closer, and followed Gabe out. It wasn’t pretty, and they passed Hanzo halfway out finishing up what Jack had missed on his way in. The older brother was a tempest, moving so swiftly to nock arrows and embed them into people that for a moment, Jack was worried he might shoot  _ them. _ Hanzo lowered his nocked bow when he saw them and stood at attention. “I can guard your rear but I believe this camp is completely clear. There weren’t many left when I got here… Jesse went around behind to check as well.”

“Sounds good. Yeah, take our vanguard. Let’s get your brother out of here.”

Gabe took point, making sure that whatever was in front would have to go through him to get to Jack and Genji. He knew that Hanzo wouldn’t let anything touch his little brother, so he didn’t even glance back.   
  
Jesse didn’t have much that he actually needed to do, between Hanzo and Jack there wasn’t really anyone left. Some poor sap here or there, and a couple that Jesse felt were mercy-kills at this point. He felt bad for the bastard that had gotten trapped just outside one of the side buildings where the fire from the main warehouse had jumped across, catching on dead leaves that had sat there for ages from nearby trees. The blaze had consumed the building the second it hit the dry and rotting beams on the inside, causing the building to collapse. One poor raider had been unlucky enough to get caught under some of the falling rubble. Jesse had looked away as he ended the guy’s misery. He doubted that raider would have ever walked again even if Jesse  _ had _ tried to save him.

Satisfied that no one would be coming up on their tail, Jesse did one last check of the buildings that were still standing and then jogged back to group up with Hanzo, Genji, Jack and Reyes. “Everythin’ good up here?” His eyes flicked to Genji, who had curled up against Jack’s chest and seemed to be asleep. Hanzo didn’t look too panicked, so he hoped that meant everything was okay.

“I believe so,” Hanzo nodded as his eyes scanned behind them. Ana hadn’t called out any threats from the front and Fareeha hadn’t called any from behind. For two women who acted so different from each other, they couldn’t be any more similar. Fareeha had climbed up in a tree and was watching their six where her mother couldn’t see and he had to laugh at the irony. “How are you?” The oldest brother didn’t know the situation with Genji, he didn’t know why Jack was taking care of Genji but right now he didn’t care. He was too busy being impressed by how easily the super-soldier carried his sibling. Genji was not a small kid-- Well, not in Hanzo’s eyes. He also had to look  _ up _ at everyone else here so perhaps that made the difference.

_ “Hej, can I get some help? This building is going down and I think someone is still inside!” _ Brigitte’s voice over the radio put some pep back into Jack’s step. The soldier began to actually jog to get past Gabe and up to Ana where he could deposit Genji onto the ground and then turn back around.

“Oh here we go again,” Ana sighed, slumping slightly against the butt of her rifle before getting ready again at the scope. One of these days Jack was going to give her an actual heart attack with his shenanigans. The Sparta kick was ten points for style, but she deducted two for using the same method twice in one mission. Brigitte was in the building on his tail.

“Ingrid is gonna kill me,” Ana muttered, watching through the scope in fear. There was a lot of smoke in there and neither of them had anything to protect themselves from it. They both went into that room on borrowed time.

Gabe swore under his breath as both Jack and Brigitte went charging into the building and he had to restrain himself from going in after them with the reminder that he was no better prepared. He watched the inferno rage for a moment before starting to pace. What if Jack didn’t come out? What if  _ Brigitte _ didn’t come out? God, Ingrid would murder the both of them in their sleep with the biggest cleaver she could find. 

While the pair ran in, Hanzo had moved to check Genji for injuries. “Otouto, are you alright?” He asked softly, checking his head and then looking for blood on his clothing. “Did anyone hurt you? Did  _ Jack _ hurt you?” He asked, trying to look in Genji’s eyes. Why was he acting like this? It almost seemed like he’d been drugged.

Genji gently batted at Hanzo’s hands as his older brother tried to mother hen him. “I’m not hurt. Jack didn’t-- Jack saved me.” He mumbled groggily. “I tripped a trap and got hit with some kind of dart. I… think it had a sedative in it. I crawled under a rack and Jack came after me and--” He frowned, realizing Hanzo hadn’t been there to see Jack scared. Hanzo hadn’t gotten to see the Jack that had  _ cried _ because he found out that he’d scared the two of them into thinking that they might get kicked out. “He called me one of his kids and I… I don’t think he wants to hurt us… at all.”

“Are you… sure?” That didn’t make sense. It surely didn’t match what Jack had said to him when they first arrived. Hanzo turned back to look toward the inferno with a frown. “It’s only been… what, five months? Six?” Was that really all it took to get in Jack’s good graces? Couldn’t be. That didn’t seem right. Hanzo wasn’t used to a place where being on good behavior for a handful of months made you one of the family--then again, he and Genji hailed from a clan where you could be married in and produce several heirs without ever  _ really _ becoming part of the family. That had been the fate of their mother. Americans were either very strange or liars, he wasn’t quite sure.

Genji nodded, “Hanzo, he was  _ scared _ . Like  _ really  _ scared. When he saw that I wasn't hurt, he looked so relieved. Like-- like remember that time that we were all kinda foraging near base and that zombie came out of nowhere and went for Brigitte? And Jack took off running when she screamed? It was like that.” He wiggled closer to his brother. “He came looking for me by himself Hanzo…”

“I believe you,” Hanzo mumbled, shocked and confused. It flew so far in the face of what he had thought was true that part of him rejected it instinctively, but… Genji wouldn’t lie to him. It had to be true, Genji wouldn’t lie to him. He squinted at the fire and tried to see some kind of indication that the others were coming back out before turning to Ana. “Are we going in behind him? Jack’s been in there too long.”

“Give him time, habibi. Just give him time.” She prayed to herself that time was all Jack needed because if he needed rescue, it would just become a pit of people going in and not coming back out.

She didn’t know how Jack was going to make it out of there but he always found a way. Ana always watched his shoulders as he slammed into the next barricade wondering if this would be the one that would break him. They hadn’t found one that broke him yet, she hoped desperately that they never would.

“Jack!” Brigitte’s voice called over the roar of flames as she hid behind her shield and coughed. “Jack, what do we do?” The flames were licking up the wooden flooring like a snack and they would be cut off soon if they didn’t find whoever was in there. She only hoped it was one person, or else how would they get them out? What if it was a lot of people in here, somewhere?

He coughed, pulling his t-shirt from beneath the ballistic armor to rip a long strip off. Jack then took his tactical knife to it to split the piece in half so he could wet it down with his canteen. “Stay low! Smoke rises!” He called. His voice had always been rough but now it was nearly painful to listen to. Jack gave her the piece of fabric, pressing the other one to his face so that it would filter out some of the smoke. Brigitte did the same thing.

She honestly didn’t even know what they were looking for in here, if she was being completely honest. The fire had made these close quarters dangerous in ways she hadn’t previously considered. As Jack descended into the ancient cellar of the warehouse, Brigitte followed. The upper warehouse was filled with generators that chugged even despite the fire all around. “Do you think those are going to explode?!”

“They’re  _ absolutely _ going to explode! We’ve got to move fast!” The smoke wasn’t as thick down here and despite the fire upstairs there were softly glowing fluorescent lights hanging above large trays of greenery. It reminded her of the way Hanzo had described his plans for the greenhouse, except it was completely buried beneath this warehouse. That must be how the person had held out against the raiders for so long.

Jack was frowning as he rubbed his eyes. The smoke made them itch, hers were watering too. “There isn’t enough food here.”

It seemed like a lot to her, but he was the farmer. He’d know how much it took to feed someone. Jack followed the edges of the basement around to a door. He splashed water on the knob before reaching out to open it. In the foggiest part of her mind, Brigitte remembered a program that she watched with her parents back when the base they lived in had actually housed soldiers. Knobs can be hot if there is fire on the other side. They can burn you.

When the knob didn’t fizzle, he grasped it strongly and pushed through to the other side. On the other side was a small bedroom with a little cot on one side made from a tarp and boards like a hammock, a small side table made from an upside down crate, a pitifully dry clear barrel of clean water and a few canned goods along with things harvested from the other room. In the bed was a kid, he didn’t even look as old as her and he was  _ thin. _

Shit, Jack was right.

There hadn’t been enough food in there to sustain a person. With the fact that they’d only found one bed, it was logical to assume there was only one person living here. That meant they could get the hell back out. There was creaking above her and Brigitte’s eyes flew up as she realized the floorboards of the warehouse above were starting to catch on fire. The smoke billowed through the cracks in the flooring as Jack picked up this small kid. “Grab anything you think he might not want to be without. Get the glasses.”

“Why isn’t he waking up?” Brigitte asked as she looked over the small body in his arms. This kid couldn’t be taller than 5’5” if she was being generous. It was hard to tell like this but she was comparing him against what Genji’d looked like next to Jack.

“Probably smoke or hypoglycemia. Or both.” Jack explained. “He’s breathing, so we take him.”

She nodded, reaching out to take the glasses on the side table and put them in one of her cargo pockets. A quick look around revealed a well-loved zipped up pouch of small tools and a cookbook held together with duct tape and prayers. She shoved both into her medical bag. “I think that’s it. Come on, Jack, we gotta go. If we don’t leave soon we’re going to get trapped in here--”

He nodded and turned back to leave through the door they’d entered from as the flames hit the generators upstairs.

Outside, Ana’s head snapped around along with everyone else’s as a fireball erupted and blew apart the warehouse from the inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Christmas Chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

“Jack!” She screamed, leaving her rifle on the grass behind her and sprinted for the warehouse. “Jack!” Her better judgement said there was no way anyone could have survived that. It told her that if she went into that rubble, she’d die too. It was only Fareeha’s insistent hand around her wrist that kept her from completely disregarding that voice and running in anyway.

Closer to the blaze, Jesse was desperately fighting to hold Reyes back.

“Jack! N-- Let me go! Jack!” Reyes’ voice cracked and he pushed back harder on Jesse.

Jesse was not a small guy by any stretch of the imagination, but god  _ damn _ if he thought he could hold a supersoldier that wanted to get somewhere. He dug in with his heels, throwing his weight into where he was practically hugging the older man, but still slid backwards a few inches.

“Let me go, McCree! I have to--”

“I can't do that, Jefe! You  _ can't  _ go in there!”

Another explosion sent fire high into the night sky, raining hot ash and debris down on anyone unlucky enough to be nearby as if to emphasize his point. Jesse hissed as he tried to pull Reyes down and cover their heads with his arms. He was rewarded for his efforts with burning chunks of wood across them. He gritted his teeth and shook it off. He'd deal with that later.

Gabe fought against Jesse again but it was half-hearted. He couldn't lose Jack. He couldn't-- He choked, leaning hard against Jesse.

“C'mon Reyes, we can't lose both of you.” Jesse murmured, trying to move him back. “We  _ need _ to get away from this fire!”

Another choked sob, and then Gabe let Jesse pull him away from the warehouse. Two more generators exploded in quick succession, shattering Gabe's hope that there was anyway Jack and Brigitte were coming out alive. He wasn't sure which was worse. Losing his husband, or having to go home after this and tell Ingrid. When they were far enough away that Jesse let him go, he sank to the ground and buried his face in his hands. Jesse sat down beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and God, did he need it.

“I'm sorry Jefe. I really am.”

“I know, Mijo.” He mumbled as he choked again on another racking sob.

Jack was gone. Brigitte was gone. And for what? Whoever they came after in the first place was dead too! He slammed a fist against the ground, “All of this for nothing… We did all of this, for  _ nothing _ !”

“Depends on how you look at it, Jefe. Who's t’ say those raiders wouldn't've come our way when they were done here? If nothin’ else, base is safe ‘cause of all this.”

“For how long?!” Gabe yelled and then sucked in a shaky breath. “I'm sorry, mijo, it's not your fault. You didn't--”

“S'alright, Jefe. I get it.”

Hanzo had ripped himself away from his brother, he didn’t want to but… he didn’t get a choice. Jesse was hurt and Jack was dead and-- so was Brigitte. His eyes snapped back to Fareeha and widened. She had to be taking this harder than anyone. Well, anyone but Gabe. There was liking a girl and having her die and then there was being married to someone for years and having them die. He couldn’t even  _ imagine. _

“Gabe…?” Hanzo asked softly, approaching them both timidly. “Do you want us to go back to base and get shovels?” He should be allowed to bury his husband. Hanzo would dig all night to give Gabe that closure. “I’ll run back--”

“Ye-- _No._ ” Gabe bowed his head with a broken whine, “I _don't know.”_ Gabe didn't want to think about a body. He didn't want to think about looking for a charred corpse only recognizable by dog tags. He didn't want to think about Jack or Brigitte or the person they'd come to save. He wanted to think about how Jack had hidden them under Brigitte's shield with some water soaked blanket over it because his husband was a MacGyver ass son of a bitch. He gestured for Hanzo to come sit with him and Jesse. But something told him that hope was unrealistic at this point.

The warehouse creaked and then what was left collapsed, sending a plume of sparks and ash high into the night sky. There was no way anyone could have survived that. Not even MacGyver reincarnated as an Indiana farmboy turned supersoldier. His grip on Jesse tightened, making a promise to himself that he'd do whatever it took to keep the rest of the kids safe. Especially Hanzo and his brother.

Ana wailed, wrenching herself against Fareeha’s grasp as she tried to launch herself at the still flaming structure. It hadn’t had enough time to really burn through the wood that made up the building but those explosions had knocked the supports out in a hurry. “Jack!” She gasped, nearly falling over. “No, no, no, no--”

“We…” Hanzo swallowed as his instinct to keep them alive began to ping. “I hate to say this but, we need to go. Any hostile for miles could see that explosion. Not to mention the zombies. If we don’t get moving we’re going to get swarmed.”

Ana was in no shape to be moved but her daughter was more than willing to drag her away if that’s what needed to happen.

“I’m serious, Jesse. If we don’t move we’re all going to die. If  _ nothing else, _ that will attract zombies and we are not ready to handle a horde right now.” Hanzo insisted, offering a hand down to them both to help them onto their feet.

“Im goin’, I'm goin’. Jesse grimaced as he hauled himself up and nudged Reyes to do the same. “C'mon Jefe, he's right. We gotta get movin’. We can come back tomorrow when the fire's died out.”

Gabe started to protest and then rose slowly. The kids were right. There was nothing they could do. Best to just go home and break the news to the others. He closed his eyes. Being murdered in his sleep by Ingrid was starting to sound better and better.

Ana had to be drug home. She hated leaving, Hanzo hated to make her go. He felt the weight of this start to set on his shoulders. He had to get all of them home safely so they could be cleaned up and any injuries cared for. He already saw some on Jesse and surely, after the layer of soot that had landed on the entire group after that building had gone up was washed off, there would be more to be seen.

So he guided them home. He rubbed Fareeha’s back, he thanked whomever was carrying Genji at the time--he wasn’t small and had to be shuffled around a few times before the toxin wore off and he was able to walk--then he helped keep his brother on his feet. The walk that was so short on the way there seemed to never end now that they were all sore and exhausted.

When they got to the gate, he took it upon himself to tell Ingrid. Hanzo jogged ahead of the others, coming into the kitchen so he could ask that leftovers be put on the stove to heat. Also so he could break it to Brigitte’s mother.

Ingrid had taken it about as well as he’d expected her to. Hanzo’s heart went out to her as the woman fell heavily onto one of the kitchen chairs in shock and just sat there silently staring right through him. “It’s ok, I’ll work on the food. It’s ok.” He murmured, patting her shoulder as she numbly nodded. As normal of a reaction as it was to scream and cry, this was normal too. He remembered losing his mother. Genji had cried but he’d just sat there in shock for hours. This was more normal than people thought.

Brigitte had been a sweet girl, he’d liked her. Hanzo chewed his lip as he pulled one of the large stock pots from their hand-dug underground cellar and placed it on the stove. This was chicken soup from a few nights previous. It would be good for the shocked group to eat something. Once it was on the stove, he began to pump water from the sink into a bucket so he could help wash. That was when the door opened.

Ana was the first through it and she nearly collapsed at Ingrid’s feet, sobbing into her apron. The chef barely moved, Hanzo understood. In grief, he needed to keep busy. In grief, she needed to sit still. Both were equally as valid as crying. “I told them, Ingrid. I told them not to go but they didn’t listen.” Ana sobbed into her friend’s lap.

Ingrid moved. She reached down and placed one pale hand on Ana’s beautiful silver hair. “She died a warrior. My Brigitte died a warrior and you will not steal that from her. Her father would’ve been _ proud  _ to call her his.”

That’s what did it for Hanzo. His breath hitched and he had to stare at the ceiling, blinking rapidly as his breath caught in his throat. She had been a warrior and her mother had every right to be proud of her. It tore his heart in a way he wasn’t prepared for. In another life, would his mother have been proud of him?

He wiped the tears off stubbornly on the nearest towel before throwing it over his shoulder and moving on to gather the first aid kits and get ready for this… disaster that was about to walk in.

Gabe was the first in out of the remaining group, shoulders set as if he was the one that would have to break the news, only to find Hanzo and Ana already there. He slumped into a chair, not sure if she already knew about Jack too and unwilling to voice it either. He leaned forward on the table, head in his hands. What were they going to do? Jack had taken care of the corn that made up a large portion of their diet. He'd hunted and fished and worked tirelessly on keeping their security up and running while Brigitte had kept everything in working order. Without the two of them, the base was going to fall apart, literally. Realistically, he knew that Jesse would probably step up and start trying to fill Jack's shoes. He knew that kid would run himself ragged trying to keep everyone else going but without their engineer, they'd likely lose power eventually. Things were about to get rougher from here on out.

Jesse wasn't far behind, following Reyes because he knew that he'd need some kind of support. Maybe Jesse wasn't the best for the job but shit, everyone needed someone. He rested a hand on Reyes’ shoulder as he sat down beside the old soldier. He knew what it felt like to think he was losing Hanzo, hell, maybe he still was. He didn't think Hanzo would just leave after all this, especially not since he was over there gathering up first aid kits and cooking but he wasn't sure. After everything that had happened, Jesse could hardly tell how  _ anyone _ would react to this.

He glanced down at his arms, eyes settling on the whiter parts on his left arm. He couldn't even really feel those. That unsettled him. How deep had that burn gone? His eyes continued up to his hand, which, while red and patchy, still hurt. It still hurt a lot. He wasn't sure if he ought to be comforted by that or not. His right arm was just a little red and burned like he'd accidentally bumped the stove. It'd probably be fine by tomorrow.

Hanzo started to move around with the wooden bowls, bowls that apparently Jack had carved by the way Ana whimpered when she looked at them. It would take a second for him to get the soup hot enough but he settled for instead looking people over for injuries. It actually seemed like the only person with any real injury was Jesse. He had a burn that looked deeper than he would have liked. Jack had always liked to harp that the medicines were important to conserve but this looked bad and he would hate for it to get infected. “Let me take care of you.” Hanzo mumbled, sitting beside Jesse and beginning to gently clean the skin around the burn. 

It was quiet. So quiet and he hated it. Brigitte would have cracked a joke.

Jesse grimaced but didn't fight Hanzo as he gently tried to clean up the burns on his arm.

It turned out Fareeha had been the one to help Genji keep moving after Hanzo had run ahead and the two of them finally wandered in with Naomí hot on their heels.

She'd already guessed something was wrong but she still covered her mouth when she got in and found two of their group missing. At first, she headed to go check on Jesse, found the area a bit too crowded to do so without hurting him. He had one arm slung around Gabriel's shoulders, skin red and a tiny bit shiny while Hanzo tended to his other arm that looked much, much worse. She frowned and decided that she'd check on him later more thoroughly. Then, as she moved to go console Ingrid, she noticed the soup being heated and the bowls out. Even despite tending to Jesse, Hanzo kept glancing up at the pot. Her eyes softened. Bless that poor dear. She turned to head for the soup. They all needed food first.

The night was spent in silence. It seemed none of them wanted to break that silence to speak in this grave time. What would they say even if they did speak? Two of their members were gone and that warranted all this silence.

When it came time for the night patrol, the only person left to do it was Jesse and Hanzo hated to let him go. They needed a night watch and everyone accepted that Gabe couldn’t do it in his condition which left Hanzo--who had become the impromptu glue holding this group together--or Jesse. It had to be him that went.

Jesse winced as he shoved himself up and cast a glance to the others. His mom had taken up talking to Reyes. As a widow herself, she had experience in coping with the matter and was doing the best she could in hushed, gentle Spanish. Hanzo was busy holding the others together and someone had to watch their fence line. Especially now. Hanzo had wrapped his arm to keep it clean and he wasn't of any real use sitting around. As much as he complained about Jack, he knew that sitting around and  _ letting _ the place fall to pieces was an insult to everything the soldier ever did for them. He could grieve on his own time. Right now, there was still work to be done.

As he patrolled the fence line, he considered what losing Jack and Brigitte really meant for the group in the long run. Jack had always been a primary food provider. His field was always filled with massive waving stalks of corn or coned-in snap peas. Where Jesse had always grown variety for quality of life, Jack had handled the staples. Wheat in a field out back, corn or some legume up front, and cotton off in a plot to the side. Jesse needed to take over all of those. He glanced at his garden with a soft, sad expression. He'd need to neglect it to keep everyone clothes fed, but that was okay.

Winter would be the hardest. Jack had always been the one that went out and hunted in the cold and snow when supplies ran thin. Ice fished when the game moved to warmer areas. Jesse didn't like the cold but he'd suck it the fuck up for everyone here. He rubbed at his neck with his right hand, glancing in the direction where they'd lost two of their family on what should have been an easy grab. The orange glow from the warehouse still lit the sky, a giant burning reminder for all of them and a beacon for anything within at least a good couple mile radius.

He gritted his teeth against the night chill. He should have brought his jacket. He should have worn his jacket on the run, too. His arm would be in a lot better shape if he had. Too late for that now though. He'd live.

Another several rounds both on the inner walls and the outer fencing brought nothing new. The glow had died down from the fire, replaced by the slowly growing light of dawn. Jesse's teeth were chattering a little, but he couldn't bring himself to go inside. Instead, he had stopped by Jack's shop and hoped for some kind of jacket or blanket to throw over his shoulders.

There, draped over his the stool beside his workbench, was a beautiful blue and red leather jacket emblazoned with ‘76’ right where Jack had left it. The whole workshop was Jack, from the tools organized  _ just so _ to a still half-full cup of coffee in a mug on the desk.

Jesse felt wrong taking it, but it'd just be for the night and then he'd put it back. He and Jack weren't exactly the same build and the jacket was tight in places that his jacket wasn't, but not uncomfortable. He settled it gently over his left arm, chuckling half-heartedly. Now all he needed was a pulse-rifle, grey hair and a bad attitude. The chuckle died to a small choke that he bit his lip and took a deep breath to control.

He paused along one of the fence lines to slide to the ground and just clutch the jacket around him. He and Jack hadn't gotten along most of the time, but damn if Jesse hadn't learned a lot from him. What was edible in Colorado and where to find it in a pinch. He'd gone fishing and hunting with Jack when he was younger, and even though they mixed like oil and water, Jack had still taken the time to deal with  _ his _ bad attitude long enough to teach him shit. A lot of shit. He bowed his head as he bit his lip to stop the tremble. Hell, Jack had even taught him to shave...

_ “If you aren’t careful, you’re gonna slit your own throat.” Jack grumbled, taking the straight razor from a young Jesse once more and demonstrated how to hold it again. “Do it like this, make small strokes. If you don’t get the right angle you’ll either cut yourself or not cut the hair. It’s a scraping motion. Make sure you hold your skin taut.” The older man was still blond, sort of. His hair was just starting to turn white. His beard was still mostly blond, though, as he pulled the skin tight around his neck and demonstrated the correct way to scrape the hair away. _

_ Jack rinsed the razor off in a bowl of hot water he had sitting beside them on the counter before offering it to Jesse again. “Try it again, the  _ right _ way.” _

_ Jesse side-eyed him but then imitated the motion. He hissed as he still managed to nick himself, probably from not holding his skin quite tight enough, but it was small and he’d live. Better than slicing his throat open while shaving. He rinsed off the blade, holding a small towel to the cut to slow the bleeding. “This sucks,” he pointed out, partially a grumble and partially a joke. _

_ “Generally, yeah,” Jack conceded that point easily. He wasn’t immune to nicking himself even now after years of doing this. He grabbed a bit of herbal salve that Ingrid kept made and tapped that on the wound so that it wouldn’t get infected. It wasn’t likely to, since Jesse was using a clean blade that had recently been sterilized, but there was no harm in taking care of it. “Here, I’ll finish it for you, kid. You’ve got your whole life to figure this out. You’ll get it eventually.” _

He did too. He practiced every time his beard started growing out, keeping it tight to his jaw so he didn’t get infected. He barely ever nicked himself anymore and it was all thanks to Jack. He wiped tears away from his eyes on the back of his right arm, then his hand. He bit his lip and then hauled himself back up, trying to ignore the pain in his left arm. He had to keep going. He was the only one out here tonight. He couldn’t let anything slip in. He wiped his eyes again.

He made his way back to the section of fence that would be facing the warehouse. If anything was going to come their way, it’d be from there.

The group had gone out for the first mission well after dark, since the plan had been to ambush the raiders once they were sleeping for the night, so Jesse didn’t need to patrol for long. Not really. The sun would be rising over that eastern hill toward the warehouse any time now. The base had been built on a hill, which was why he had such an easy line of sight to where the warehouse flames still lit up the surrounding forest, but just across a small creek bed was another hill. The top of it had been slowly felled for firewood over the years, though Jack had always been very careful to be sparse about the wood usage, though eventually that hill had gotten a little bald. It gave Jesse a beautiful view of the rising sun, however.

This late in the year it peaked out a pale yellow, just barely rising over the edge before erupting a brilliant fuchsia pink and brilliant royal blues. The stars were still visible against the wispy clouds far above and spindly trees barely holding onto the last of their leaves were barely silhouettes against the glow. It was beautiful.

Jesse stopped to enjoy it, just like he did every morning. Usually he was out in his garden, dusting dirt off his hands as he turned to watch the sun come up but today was a different day. There was different work to be done. It was strange to see the sun come up after the hell that had been last night, but it was there, rising as it always had for the last several billion years and as it would continue to do for God only knew how long. The world would keep spinning long after he and everyone he knew was long gone and somehow, that was comforting. The world didn’t end because a man doing his best impression of Atlas had died. There’d just have to be a new Atlas. Jesse leaned on the fence, pulling a broken apple twig from his pants pocket and sticking one of the longer pieces in his mouth, chewing on it to soothe some of his frazzled nerves.

The sun continued to rise higher in the sky, going from deep pink to a brilliant orange and just over the peak of the hill came first, a bobbing dark spot. That spot was then connected to a dark base and finally… a pair of legs. With the sun directly behind them, at first it was hard to tell who it was but lo and behold, Brigitte. She’d made it back.  _ She made it back. _ “Jesse--” The girl croaked, stumbling forward and coughing. She was still caked in soot and ash from the explosion, looking like she’d gotten hit by a truck. Barely surviving multiple explosions would do that.  _ “Help me.” _

Jesse didn’t need to be asked twice. The twig dropped from his mouth as his jaw dropped open and then he was scrambling for the gate with shocked curses falling from his lips. He didn’t stop running until he was in front of her, checking her over with his hands on her shoulders as if he thought she might disappear. As if she were a trick of the light he was trying to hold in place. “Darlin’, I may’ve lost my faith a long time ago, but seein’ ya come over that hill? I swore I saw an angel.” He wrapped her up in a hug, choking up through relieved laughter. “C’mon, lets get ya inside and get food in ya.”

Brigitte leaned on him heavily, coughing as she did so. She was wheezing, which was to be expected. She’d just inhaled a lot of smoke and then hoofed it across a lot of territory in the cold. She was bound to be having problems breathing. The hug was barely returned, but she did tried to return it, though she just ended up needing him to almost carry her. “Jesse--” Her voice was  _ wrecked. _ The poor thing sounded like she’d been gargling with gravel. “Jack’s still out there with the kid. There was--” She stopped to cough harshly, gasping in air like a fish. “There was another exit in the cellar. But he’s still out there. He sent me home to get help.”

Jesse shook his head. Jack wasn’t dead. He laughed at the words, not sure if he should be surprised or just amused. Of course the stubborn ole’ man wasn’t dead. He hefted Brig up, supporting her with mostly his right arm and only using his left to steady her as he carried her inside. She needed rest, food and water and Ingrid deserved to know her baby girl was too stubborn to die. Jesse was almost hysterically chuckling, humor found in the fact that Torbjorn had always been found near fire and slag and it seemed he’d passed on his fireproof abilities on to his daughter.

Her slumped form was hard to maneuver, especially once Jesse had gotten her close enough to the house that she felt safe. That was when her knees buckled and she just dropped like a rock. Hanzo had been diligently trying to work on breakfast and saw them coming up the rise. He’d already been halfway out the door when Brigitte passed out, setting off in a run to help Jesse carry her inside.  _ “Nani wa--” _ He shook his head, mouth open in amazement and sheer confusion. How did she survive--

“She made it?” He asked, looking up at Jesse before breaking out into a wide grin. “She survived! I-- Jesse, she survived! What about Jack? Does he live-- is he alive?”

Jesse grinned back, “Lindholms are fireproof, I swear to God. You never met her pops, but I swear that man drank straight lava.” He shook his head, and then sobered a little at the mention of Jack. “She says he’s still out there. Got a kid with him, but there’s no telling how old ‘a kid’ is when talking to Jack. We’re out here in our thirties and he calls us kids.”

“But he's  _ alive--” _ Hanzo seemed to just forget himself, laughing in amazement. He'd been there, he saw the explosion. There was no way anyone should have made it out of there alive and yet Brigitte was standing right there and Jesse said Jack was still out there somewhere. “I've got to go tell Gabriel!” He turned to head further inside the base before thinking better of it for just a moment. Hanzo turned back around and caught Jesse by the jaw on both sides, coming in for a quick but heartfelt kiss on the lips before pulling away just as fast. “They're  _ alive.” _ He whispered gleefully and then ran for the others to tell them the news.

Jesse sputtered, jaw hung open in the wake of that kiss. Hanzo had kissed him.  _ Hanzo had kissed him! _ Later he might chalk it up to excitement but right now, if he hadn't been holding Brigitte, he'd have whooped and hollered. Still, it didn't stop his eyes from lighting up bright as he carried Brigitte inside.

“Gabe!” Hanzo yelled, attracting the attention of everyone on the base as he literally sprinted through the halls. It was still early but he just couldn't  _ care.  _ “Gabe! Gabe! Everyone! Brigitte is alive! She made it out! She says Jack is still out there! Wake up! Gabe!” He skidded to a halt in front of the door where Gabe and Jack had stayed, beating on it with his fists. “Gabe! Wake up!”

Gabe groaned. He’d barely slept without Jack there beside him, and now that he’d finally gotten to sleep, something  _ else  _ had probably gone horribly wrong. He dragged himself from the cold and empty bed, it wasn’t like he’d sleep well in it anyway. Maybe it was better this way. At least this way if he got sick, Jack wouldn’t have to watch him turn. It was probably better this way. He opened the door, sighing softly, “What is it Hanzo?” 

  
Why did he look so cheerful? Had Jesse pulled his head out of his ass and finally asked Hanzo out? That’d be good for them. They both could use someone around to hold them up.

“Jack is alive.” Hanzo blurted out in one breath, eyes wide as he nearly bounced on the balls of his feet. “Brigitte made it back. She said Jack was alive, they got a kid out of the warehouse and he's out there somewhere.”

Gabe froze, “Come again? Are you- Where? Where is Brigitte?” If he could see her with his own two eyes, that would be all the proof he needed.

“In the kitchen! She's in the kitchen with Jesse! I'm going to get her mother!” Hanzo pointed in the direction of where he had left Jesse, moving out of the way so Gabe could run in there. Hanzo couldn't even imagine how he felt right now but he knew that if it were him, he wouldn't want to wait.

  
Gabe took off running the second he had a direction, practically skidding into the kitchen where a bright-eyed and giddy-looking Jesse had an unconscious Brigitte cradled in his lap with her feet propped up in a chair. He stopped short as his eyes settled on the jacket, and despite the shock, he couldn't help but tease the kid just a little, “Nice threads.”

Jesse's eyes looked down then back up with a nervous chuckle, turning a little red. “Forgot my jacket in my room 'n turns out it’s pretty damn cold out there without that huge fire nearby. I'll put it back before Jack gets back. ”

Gabe shook his head at the kid, and collapsed in the chair next to Jesse with a disbelieving huff of laughter, “I can't believe that man.”   
  
“I can.” Jesse snorted. “Brigitte said somethin’ about another exit. He got a kid out too. I knew he was stubborn but I think this is a new record, even for him.” Only Jack could stubborn his way out of death.

Ingrid slid into the kitchen in nothing but her nightgown, not giving a damn about modesty when it came to her baby. Hanzo was getting everyone out of bed because he was going to launch a search for Jack but Ingrid could barely believe her eyes. “My baby--” she whispered, reaching out to cradle Brigitte's hand in her own pair. She didn't dare move her, not with the peaceful expression on her face. It couldn't have been easy to make it back here and Ingrid didn't want to wake her.

Thyr, on the other hand, had no such reservations. He barreled right through the same door on his mother's heels and shrieked. “Sissy!” The kid didn't stop at the door, continuing to barrel into the room and squeeze Brigitte even though she barely groaned in response. She was alive, but she was exhausted so there would be no heartfelt reunion just yet.

Jesse pulled Thyr up onto his lap anyway, doing his best to balance the two siblings while marveling at the news.

“We have to go find Jack.” Gabe blurted suddenly. Even if no one else went, he needed to find his husband. He needed to find Jack.

Reyes’ voice broke Jesse's reverie and he sighed. After bearing the good news, he didn't want to be the practical one. “Jefe, most of us ain't in any shape t’ launch a manhunt. Hate t’ say it but lots of us need rest. Ain't no sense killin’ ourselves cause we're stretchin’ ourselves too thin.”

“If she's in this shape--”

“And what are we gonna do?! I'm down an arm, ain't nobody round here who got any decent sleep… If he ain't back in a few days--”

“He may not  _ have _ a  _ few days _ !”

“And you think he wants us out there gettin’ killed cause we're all exhausted? He's a  _ supersoldier _ . He probably fucking laughed at that smoke and told it to watch it's language.”

Gabe opened his mouth and then slumped, “You're right, I just--”

“I get it, Jefe, but we'll do 'im no good if we kill ourselves lookin’.”

Gabe's face screwed up in pain and he sighed, staring blankly at the wood grain on the table. “Yeah…” His Jackie was out there, and there was nothing he could do. Jesse was right. Everyone was, at the very least, emotionally drained. Jesse's left arm was covered in  _ at least _ second degree burns and if those white patches were any indication, there was some serious damage on his forearm. He couldn't shoot like that.


	9. Chapter 9

“Genji is a powerful tracker,” Hanzo called from the door, looking in. “We’re both trackers. We can find a running man anywhere he can try to hide. Let us go look.” He was no better off than anyone else but, at least with that dart, Genji got some sleep the night before. “Genji owes Jack a life debt. Let him go look. I can wake and supply him.”

Jesse wasn't totally sure about the idea, but Genji had been out scouting on his own before. Hell, he'd been the one to find the raiders in the first place. Hanzo, on the other hand… Jesse frowned. “Get some sleep at least if yer gonna go out.” He figured he couldn’t stop Hanzo, but maybe he could be a voice of reason. “We just got back, we all need a break. Even if it’s only til lunch.” Jack wouldn’t want all of them throwing themselves around recklessly. Jesse knew that much. “We need t’ regroup, get our heads screwed on the right direction.”

“Hai,” Hanzo acknowledged, looking back at breakfast. He didn’t know who was going to finish cooking the meal but that was more than solved when Ingrid pulled herself to her feet. 

“I will make breakfast, Hanzo. Thank you for helping.” She realized that he’d been running himself ragged trying to keep everyone together and mend all the broken hearts that were left after the mission had ended. She wanted to do nothing but hold her daughter, however, she realized that the world had to keep spinning. “I’ll wake up Naomí and Ana and we can take it from here. You go rest.”

He certainly seemed to need it. Hanzo was ready to fall over. He’d gained dark bags under his eyes and a certain glassy expression when he wasn’t focusing on one thing that came with a severe lack of rest. He nodded slowly, chewing on his lower lip. The dark eyes flicked to Jesse and then back to the floor. “I’ll go get some sleep. Genji and I will set out after lunch.”

Jesse lifted Brigitte and Thyr, passing them both to Gabe. “I gotta get some sleep too. Still got work t’ do later.”   
  
Gabe frowned at that, “You should rest that arm.”   
  
“I will, but there’s stuff I can do that doesn’t require me t’ use it. Might as well get that done.”   
  
Jack had always made little comments in private about Jesse’s work ethic, but there were times that Gabe worried. This was one of those times. Yet, he knew Jack would be proud.    
  
Jesse offered a smile to Hanzo, tilting his head in the direction of their rooms. “C’mon, I’ll walk ya back.”

“Thank you,” Hanzo responded, stepping closer to Jesse as he came to walk him back to his room. Most of Hanzo’s worries had been centered around being forced out, or that Jack didn’t like him, and while those wouldn’t go away overnight the fact that Jack had risked his life--and they even thought he’d lost it--to save Genji and a person he’d never met had soothed those worries exponentially. All Genji ever said was that Jesse liked him and the younger Shimada, while coming in second place in some areas, had always been better with people than he. If Genji said Jesse liked him, it was probably right.

Strange how when one anxiety left, a new one emerged. Hanzo had never been with anyone before. He knew he liked guys, he didn’t have to kiss a girl to know he didn’t  _ want _ to kiss a girl, but he had no experience. Wouldn’t Jesse want someone who had some inkling of how to do this? Other than the paperback novels Ingrid had lent him, Hanzo didn’t know anything. What he did know pretty exclusively applied to women,  _ thank you _ harlequin romances.

Where did they go from here? He’d already kissed Jesse. Sort of. Now what?

Jesse held out his hand when they were around the corner and wouldn’t get a bunch of well-meaning nosy friends and family teasing them. “Ya look wore out,” he noted, trying to resist the urge to rub either of his arms.

What was that hand? Was that an invitation? Hanzo didn’t know but he hoped it was. He was going to take it even if it wasn’t. “I am. It has been a long night of ups and downs.” He reached out and shyly hooked their pinkies together. Who  _ was _ he? If this were someone he had to kill, there would be no hesitation, but with Jesse? Hanzo couldn’t even get up the spine to fully take his hand.

Jesse chuckled, tightening the grip of his pinkie reassuringly. “Yeah, it has. Just glad that it's almost over.” He moved his hand so his palm rested on the back of Hanzo's hand, hoping that he wasn't pushing. Hoping that that kiss earlier had meant something and scared that he was just getting his hopes up. 

Hanzo blushed, pulling his hand free of the hold just long enough to turn it over and lace their fingers together while looking away. If this was what it felt like to be a school girl, people should really stop using it as an insult. Apparently, being a school girl was both the most stressful thing he’d ever experienced  _ and _ the most rewarding. Who wouldn’t want to be a school girl? “I can’t believe she survived. They  _ both _ survived. It’s… it shouldn’t be possible.”

Jesse tried not to look disappointed when Hanzo pulled his hand away, but he couldn’t help the tiny frown that pulled at his mouth until Hanzo laced their fingers back together. His heart skipped a beat and fluttered, frown quickly replaced with a crooked grin. “I'm honestly less surprised by Jack than Brigitte, but at the same time, I'm not. I meant it when I said I swore that her father drank lava. At this point, I'm convinced that 'fireproof’ jus’ sorta runs in the family.” He was trying really hard not to act as excited as he was, because he knew he’d push it too far, but he really just wanted to scoop Hanzo up and twirl him around and be goofy. Instead, he tamped that down, and just rubbed patterns into the back of Hanzo’s hand with his thumb. Only his grin betrayed him, goofy with his eyes lit up. 

“I--” Hanzo’s wrist tilted so that Jesse couldn’t reach his hand as easily with the thumb. It felt  _ weird _ and kind of itched a little. “I wish I could have met him. Brigitte is an amazing woman, her father must have been equally impressive.” Little did he know that Torbjörn was barely up to his thigh and anything  _ but _ impressive, at least in the traditional sense.

Jesse seemed to catch the hint because his thumb stilled while he made a mental note that doing so was too far. He shrugged, “Torb was somethin’ else. The man could build fuckin’ anythin’ out of some scrap ‘n spare parts.” His eyes flicked down to the floor as his mood sobered a little. Out of all those that they’d lost, he missed old Reinhardt the most. He chewed on his lip as he stared straight ahead, wondering how much easier life would be if they still had Torb, or Rein, or hell, even Liao around still. 

They’d lost a lot of good people.

As they came to Hanzo’s door, the archer let go in order to unlock the door with the key he always kept around his neck, Genji had one as well. His brother was sleeping inside, or at least he was last time Hanzo had checked, but he had a wild idea. They’d napped beside each other outside beneath one of the apple trees. How was this any different? He chewed his lower lip and considered it. This shouldn’t be any different, Hanzo even had that gaudy flannel blanket in his room from when Jesse had found him outside before. He had washed it and it just hadn’t gone back into the storage shed where it belonged yet. So he opened the door, holding up a single finger to Jesse in a ‘give me a moment’ gesture as he dug through their laundry basket. 

The basket actually caused his heart to ache a little when he looked at it, not as much now that Jack had been discovered as alive, but the pain of losing someone took a while to subside. Jack had made the things in their room, from the bed frame to a small table and chair. He’d also made this wicker basket for them to use for dirty clothes. Hanzo’d put his clean clothes from the line back into it and it just hadn’t been put away yet.    
  
Ah ha! Deep in the bottom of the basket was the clean flannel. He pulled it out and raised it to Jesse with a shy smile. “It’s too cold to lay under a tree.” 

The words gave Jesse pause. Was he… being invited in? Why? His brows furrowed in a confused expression.

“If you don’t want to, I understand-- I just--” Hanzo flushed darker and began to fold the flannel up as he frowned at the floor. Clearly that piece of linoleum had wronged him somehow. Ugh, his hand still itched. His skin must be dry if barely rubbing it caused that. He scratched the back of his hand, lips tilting down even more.  _ “Sumimasen.” _ _   
_ _   
_ __ ‘Shit.’  He was already fucking up. A strange mix of emotions crossed his face, most of it shame. He hadn’t meant to seem like he was rejecting Hanzo. His logic was saying this was a bad idea but if he turned Hanzo down now, he could ruin everything. “No, I… jus’. Ya caught me off guard s’all.” Jesse took a experimental step forward, as if he expected the offer to be off the table because he hadn’t jumped on it immediately. “Don’t need t’ apologize.” 

The dark eyes flicked up and a rare and wide smile spread over Hanzo’s features. It wasn’t often that his smiles reached his eyes but this one did, causing crinkles in the corners. “You understood me.” When he’d first come here, none of them understood what he was saying when he got flustered. It took Hanzo the longest of the two to speak exclusively English like the rest of the group and even now, he still forgot himself on occasion. The fact that Jesse had heard him and put together what it meant? Well, color Hanzo suitably impressed. 

“I spend almost all my time around you,” Jesse offered with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. He was used to how Hanzo talked, sometimes asking Genji what certain words meant just so he could understand Hanzo  _ better _ . It had, admittedly, become more frequent after Jesse had fallen head-over-heels for the archer, but he’d always put an effort into understanding Hanzo. “Wanted t’ understand ya better.”

“I want to understand  _ you _ better,” Hanzo laughed as he pulled the low tie from his hair and let the waist-length tresses free. Something about Jesse’s understanding of even one word had taken a lot of the tense stress from his shoulders. He began to scratch his hand again before finally giving up and pulling out one of Genji’s drawers to look for lotion. His brother always had lotion around. “I speak your language but I still don’t understand you sometimes.”

“It’s probably slang, Spanglish, some shorthand nonsense… Mostly slang though,” Jesse laughed. He seemed to relax a little, and then his eyes softened, “Ya can always ask me… if I’m bein’ real confusin’. Pull me aside if it’d make ya feel better, but I promise I wouldn’t mind.”

“Good, I will.” Hanzo gave a curt nod, smearing an oily herbal cream onto the back of his hand and sighing as it took the itch of dry skin away. The winter was absolutely brutal to him. “I’m sorry if I seem distracted, my skin is very uncomfortable. Cold makes it very--” He gripped his hands together as if squeezing something while looking for the word. “Tight. It itches when I--or you, it seems--touch it.” 

Jesse seemed to get a look of understanding and then nodded, “Yer alright. Sorry ‘bout that. I didn’ mean to--” He rubbed his neck again to avoid rubbing his arm as he was prone to doing. 

Hanzo had actually taken a stick that was whittled into the shape of a small hook with a very long handle and was scratching between his shoulder blades with it. He blushed, putting it back with the jar of lotion in the drawer. “It’s just dry skin, that’s what Ana said. The wood fire makes it worse. Anywhere I wash often, like my hands, or places I can’t lotion, like my back, get irritated.” He shrugged, “It’s not your fault.”

Jesse’s brow furrowed, as they usually did when he was listening and thinking at the same time. Maybe he could… He fidgeted, shuffling slightly as his eyes flicked to the floor and then back up to Hanzo a few times, “I could maybe… I mean ya don’t have t’--” He shuffled again, face red. Fuck what if he screwed this up? What if he scared Hanzo off? “I could maybe get yer back for ya? If you were okay with it, of course, ya don’t have to. Ya can tell me no, I just--”

“Please.” Hanzo was holding out the jar of lotion to him with one hand and starting to hitch his shirt off with the other. “Please and while you’re back there, kindly scrape my skin completely off. It would fix most of my problems.” The delivery was dry, but the sarcasm was obvious. Hanzo cracked a toothy smile, pulling the shirt over his head and smoothing his hair back down before changing which hand was offering the lotion so he could drop the shirt on the floor.

The fact that Hanzo and Genji did drills was the worst kept secret on base. Hanzo was meticulous about it and never let his brother get a day without sparring at the very least. Well, except yesterday. All that exercise and localized training to specific muscle groups  _ showed. _ He was a ninja, after all.

Jesse chuckled, used to Hanzo’s mostly dry humor and took the lotion from Hanzo. “Pretty sure it might cause more problems, but I’m no doctor,” He winked as he cracked a grin, “So what do I know?” When the shirt came off, Jesse did his best to not run his eyes  _ all _ over that. He knew Hanzo was built, he’d figured that out the first day Hanzo had snuggled against him. He’d also tried not to pass out from hyperventilating that day, but at least he’d expected it this time. “So uh, how’re we--” He gestured at the lotion and then the sheepish look returned, “How d’ya wanna do this?”

“I could sit on the bed?” Hanzo offered, gesturing back toward it. They didn’t have particularly large beds. They were old cots. Jack pulled the old fabric off the best he could, threw what was left in a bonfire till all he had were springs before stitching it all back together with new fabric. They weren’t the most comfortable bed Hanzo had ever slept on but it was vastly better than anything else he’d had since the fall. “It’s a bit small, but you could fit too.”

Jesse nodded, “Sounds good to me.” He was still unsure where all of this was going but at least he could help Hanzo out, right? He moved towards the bed, sitting on an edge and patting the open space next to him with a smile.

Hanzo grabbed a pair of pajama pants from the dresser, quickly moving behind a makeshift dressing screen to change before walking to the bed and sitting beside Jesse. He looked back over his shoulder and then pulled the long hair out of the way.

“I can’t promise anythin’, with,” he gestured to his left arm. “Been trying not t’ move it ‘round a whole lot, but I’ll do my best.” He gave a sheepish grin as he got some of the lotion onto his hand and gently worked it into the areas where Hanzo’s skin seemed most irritated.

“I'm more worried about your arm, I promise,” Hanzo assured him. He didn't want Jesse to hurt himself for any reason, especially not for him. “Does your arm need rewrapped?” He asked, worried about the bandage from the night before already being soaked through. Burns tended to get covered in puss and 'sweat’ a lot. He didn't know the actual term for the clear discharge but burns tended to produce a lot of it.

Jesse smiled at the reassurance and then shrugged as he alternated rubbing the lotion in and gently scratching up and down Hanzo’s spine, over his shoulder blades and across his neck. “I dunno, can’t say I’ve ever really gotten burned this bad before… I mean I hit my leg on a tailpipe once, ‘n that was about as pleasant as it sounds.” He still had a weird shaped scar across his calf from that. “But I don’t really know the first thing about carin’ fer burns like this. Never really had t’ learn.”

“It's important to keep it clean,” Hanzo murmured, eyes shut and body arching into the fingers. He had a similar reaction to the scratching as a cat, going so far as to scoot closer to Jesse and arch his neck so it was easier to reach. He had a large, circular brand on his right shoulder that looked like a pair of dragons so it wasn't that off base to say that Hanzo knew a thing or two about burns. “I'll change the dressing… after this.”

“Been tryin’ t’ keep it covered n’ not bump it too much.” Jesse found it adorable how Hanzo wiggled and arched, scratching just a little bit harder in spots with a more pronounced reaction.

“Mm,” Hanzo was never particularly eloquent when tired but he'd gone straight past that to whines and noises of satisfaction when Jesse found  _ just the right spot. _ “Mmhmm. I have… a kit…”

Jesse’s gentle scratching shifted back to an almost massage as he worked his thumb into some of the tenser muscles before scooping up a bit more lotion. He tried not to give into the urge to want to kiss Hanzo’s back instead of rub it, telling himself that he’d get lotion on his mouth and it would taste horrible, but God did he want to kiss Hanzo. Any part of him really, just little kisses. Nothing more than that.

_ “Arigatou,”  _ Hanzo murmured, having to brace his own arms on the bed because this had him seconds away from melting into a puddle. It was getting increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. He was so tired and this felt nice,  _ “Watashi wa-- Anata wa--” _ he stumbled over deciding which way he wanted to phrase the question, before realizing he wasn't even asking in the right language. “Do you want me to wrap your arm? Before I lose my ability to sit up on my own?” 

This boy was adorable, Jesse decided as a goofy grin found its way back to his lips. God, he wanted to kiss him, but if he did, he might scare Hanzo and he didn’t want to do that. His hand paused, resting against on Hanzo’s shoulder. He chewed his lip for a second, “If ya want to. Ya don’t have to though. I could probably go talk t’ Reyes or Ana ‘bout it. Figure out how t’ clean it up myself.” He didn’t want to make Hanzo do anything, especially since he remembered his leg being a little gross and it hadn’t even been a particularly bad burn.

“I want to,” He responded easily. It took Hanzo a few moments of blearily blinking sleep away before he could rock himself off the bed and go over to where he had placed the kit he kept in their room. Most of the time, they used sterilized cotton from the farm for bandages but for a burn Hanzo opened some of those valuable nonstick packages from the kit and retrieved an antibiotic ointment. “Here, I can do it.  _ Onegai,  _ let me take care of you.”

Jesse held out his arm. He wouldn’t fight Hanzo if he said that he wanted to, he just didn’t want to be a bother to him. “I’m probably gonna watch what ya do though… just in case yer out and I need t’ change it myself.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Hanzo nodded easily as he started to unwrap his old bandages. “Burns make this clear… clear…” He didn’t quite know what to call it so instead he pointed to where the old pads had nearly been soaked in a yellowish clear liquid. “This. It has to be changed often.” He explained, laying a used towel over Jesse’s lap so when he gently rinsed the burns, it wouldn’t soak his pants and bed. 

“This looks second, even third in some places, so you have to be very careful. The worse burns can stick and get debris inside and then heal with it there.” Which explained the nonstick bandages. He was careful when using the small squeeze bottle to debride the wounds and then gently placed each of his neosporin-covered bandage squares over Jesse’s arm. 

Hanzo got up, looking around until he located a long sleeve shirt in one of his drawers. That shirt was pulled out and the sleeves were cut off so when he wrapped it, they could just be pulled up and over to keep everything in place. Once it was finished, he sat back on his heels and smiled widely.  _ “Owatta.” _

A frown pulled at Jesse’s lips as Hanzo unwrapped his arm and he got a good look. Jesse had never been particularly squeamish but burns had a nasty ass way of looking so much worse than they were. The frown turned to a lip curl for a moment and then he nodded and listened, watching how Hanzo cleaned them. He winced a couple times, not because it particularly hurt but rather that it looked like it  _ should _ . The fact that the worst parts didn’t still unsettled him in ways he couldn’t quite explain.

When Hanzo was done, Jesse smiled at him and dipped his head, “Thanks. I’d say it feels better but…” The sheepish look returned, “I honestly can’t really tell. It’s weird not feeling it.”

“That’s normal,” Hanzo nodded, rubbing his branded shoulder. “It hurts when it happens but if the burn is deep enough, it ruins the nerves below and then you don’t feel it. Honestly, with this, it’s probably for the best.” He stood back up and returned the first aid kit to the dresser where it had been before, before returning to the bed beside Jesse.

“Still unnerving…” He mumbled, then stopped, snorted and smacked his palm against his face. “Pun not intended.”

Hanzo laughed anyway. “Lay down.” He sighed, doing so himself.

“Wait...really?” The laughter died as Jesse looked Hanzo over with a confused look, jaw a little slack. Was he really being invited to lay with Hanzo? Here? In  _ Hanzo’s room _ ? Sure they napped together  _ outside _ , but that was outside. This was different, this was-- This was probably nothing. No need to get worked up over it.

“I wasn’t going to make you sleep in the floor.” More of that signature dry humor, paired with an eyebrow raise. “I know it’s small but I don’t drool. I think. Genji says I do but I think he’s lying.”

“I figured that I just was gonna go back t’ my room.” Jesse shrugged, but then wiggled to try to get in beside Hanzo to lay down. This didn’t mean anything, he reminded himself. They napped together outside all the time. This wasn’t any different. Except it  _ was _ , but Jesse wasn’t going to focus on that.

It took a little bit of finessing, Hanzo had to shift around so that Jesse’s arms wouldn’t be pinned beneath him or under any pressure. The ending position was that he’d stuck the cowboy on his back and curled up nearly on top of him to one side. Twin beds were not designed for two people,  _ especially _ when one of them was a 6’1” broad American… but once they were in place, it was comfortable. Jesse was  _ so warm. _ Genji hadn’t been that warm. When they’d first been moved into the room, Jack only had one bed done so the brothers were forced to bunk together. Hanzo was always cold and Genji sort of kept him warm? For the most part though, the younger had just stolen all the blankets and bitched about Hanzo taking up too much room. Jesse, on the other hand, was a furnace. 

“Mmmm,  _ atsui.”  _ Hanzo couldn’t keep how much that pleased him out of his voice as he pressed his face to Jesse’s chest. He hated to be cold.   
  
Jesse chuckled as Hanzo fussed him around, but he didn’t fight it in the least. He made sure his left arm wouldn’t get jostled in the while they slept, then wrapped his right arm around Hanzo’s middle.

“Goodnight, Jesse.”

“G’night.” Jesse murmured softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We uh...kinda forgot to upload this chapter but its cute and fluffy and McHanzo?


	10. Chapter 10

Hanzo was _not_ ready to be awake right now. His bed had been absolutely full of incredibly warm man who smelled nice, he hadn’t slept enough, and now he had to go out into the cold forest to find someone and hopefully be able to extract them. Hopefully. When Fareeha had come back in from her day patrols around the base on the outside looking for breaches, she’d reported that the woods closest to where the warehouse had gone up were absolutely crawling in zombies.

The plan was, since zombies couldn’t climb, to travel above their heads once they reached the densely packed forest and try to make their way to Jack. That was providing they could even find him, however. If he wanted to hide, Hanzo wasn’t sure either of them would be able to find him and calling out was a great way to get eaten.

“Are you ready?” Hanzo asked Genji. It felt good to speak in his native language again. He checked his bags to make sure that he had everything one last time. Brigitte wasn’t back to her old self, but she had provided them with a few more shuriken and kunai to work with. These weren’t as sharp or light as they were used to working with, since they weren’t done, but more ammunition was still more ammunition. Lucky for him, she’d had lots of arrow tips already done. He had packed his quiver as tight as he could pack it.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Genji sighed in response. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, that much was obvious in how quickly he packed his bags. No, Genji was scared of what they’d find. What if they were too late? What if they couldn’t reach Jack? What if everyone had gotten their hopes up for nothing?

 _“Hai,”_ Hanzo nodded, starting for the door. “We must hurry, time is of the essence.” He brought a large first aid kit with him because Brigitte had said that the rescued person from the warehouse was in bad shape. Although he hoped for the best, Hanzo was prepared for the worst. He had everything needed to recover bodies as well as to leave a cache of goods so that Jack could sustain himself and this mysterious stranger in the event that they couldn’t escort them home.

The pair of them set off into the woods, silent as the night. This was what they were trained to do, this was the portion of them that they couldn’t explain to the outsiders. Nindou wasn’t something one could simply sit down and talk about with one of the Americans--not really. One had to _experience_ the nindou and live as they did before it would make any sense.

Traveling through trees was significantly harder than an anime would have you believe, but there was simply no other way to get around the sheer amount of animated corpses roaming the ground below them. He clicked his teeth, whining as he looked over at Genji. _“Mendokusai…”_ The older brother huffed, resolving himself before pulling up into one of the nearby trees. Hopefully they didn’t get cut off by a large clearing.

Well, it was significantly harder for _Hanzo._ Genji, on the other hand, seemed to be having no real issue with it. Then again, Genji had also been prone to sneaking out and was therefore good at this kind of thing. He swung himself to another sturdy branch and crouched to wait on his older brother. “So…” Genji started mischievously, “I saw Jesse get up and leave this morning…” It was easier to tease his brother when he didn’t have to think about his words. English could be such a strange language.

Hanzo glared up at his brother, huffing and puffing while pulling himself through the thinner branches to a sturdier one. It wasn’t that Hanzo wasn’t strong enough to move around, he wasn’t as limber. Genji had always been significantly more mobile. It didn’t hurt that Hanzo had about thirty extra pounds of muscle on his younger sibling. Branches Genji could glide right through creaked and threatened to give out under Hanzo. “Yes. And?”

“How’d it go?” He dragged out the words with a shit-eating grin.

“It went.” The older snapped, not even bothering to give him more than a second look while he moved toward the next tree. He had to coil himself up before jumping across the gap and landing on the next sturdy branch.

Genji huffed and moved to the next tree. “You are so cold, I swear it’s like winter is here early.”

“It _is_ winter here, or hadn’t you noticed?” Hanzo asked, the frown deeply set while he climbed from one side of the tree to the other. How did his brother move so easily? It was almost as if he could jump twice.

“It’s _fall_ , Hanzo.”

“It’s winter.” Hanzo griped, but was glad to have managed to change the subject. He lined up his jump and then dashed down one of the large limbs and across to the next tree. _Fuck,_ he hated trees.

“It is _not_ winter! The trees still have leaves and they’re _orange and shit_ . _It’s fall.”_ He was far enough ahead of Hanzo that he didn’t have to bother moving, at least not for a little while. He’d be so much faster if he didn’t have to wait for his brother.

“It’s wint--” Hanzo stopped dead of the tree Genji was currently perched in, eyes widening as he looked at it. It was almost a sapling. Nope. Nope nope nope _nope._ “I’m not going over there. I’m going to find a way around.”

“It’s _fine_ , Hanzo!” Genji sighed with a roll of his eyes as he hopped to the next tree, swinging up as a zombie lunged. “Haha!” He stuck his tongue out at the snarling creature, “What’s the matter? Can the big scary zombie not climb a tree? Poor little zombie… sucks to suck, don’t it?”

“It’s inadvisable to goad the devil,” Hanzo called. He’d moved to one of the far older trees and was nearly a full story taller than Genji at this point. Vertical movement wasn’t his difficulty, neither was dashing across gaps to make it to the next tree… Hanzo’s hesitancy lay in not knowing if the next tree would _hold his weight._

“It’s not like they can get me… look!” He bounced up a few limbs to launch himself to the next tree and then using it as a springboard to another, sturdier one. The zombie he’d been taunting followed, stalking him below but unable to do much except growl and shriek in frustration. “See? Look, it’s so mad!”  
  
“But what if it breaks!?” Hanzo asked in exasperation, using this large tree to sway over to the upper canopy of the next large tree. Up here where the branches were thick and intersected with the next tree, it was easier and he was starting to be able to keep up with Genji. He just needed to get to a denser forest with larger trees. “I can’t catch you down there if it breaks. I’ll just be forced to watch you get eaten. Be more considerate.”   
  
“Be more-- Says the guy cracking jokes about his brother being eaten by zombies!” Genji had raised his voice and a few more zombies had wandered over, attracted by his rather loud protesting.

“It’ll at least be a decent show,” Hanzo mused as he jumped to the next tree, grinning to himself. One of the girls at base would have apologized and taken him seriously but Genji knew better. “You’re the kind to squeal loudly. My escape would be easy.”

“You’re such an ass!” Genji shouted. The mass below them shrieked back in response, scrabbling at the bark and then at each other. Genji glanced down with a mocking laugh and then hopped for the next tree. “Look at these idiots.”

“Phht, you’re so rude. You deserve to get eaten.” Hanzo scoffed, rolling his eyes down at his brother as he climbed as high as he could manage for a better viewpoint. The ashes of the warehouse were still smoldering just enough that he knew where Jack would have started, but he didn’t know where he had come out. Brigitte said it was an underground tunnel. He couldn’t imagine the tunnel being very long. “Don’t taunt them, they’re animals. That’s mean.”

“Oh shut _up_ you hypocrite!”

Hanzo stopped to chuckle, shrugging. “Guilty.”

“Besides, _look_ at them! They’re attacking _each other._ ” He gestured down at where several were snarling and tearing at each other before one went down and the group descended on it. The screeching silenced in moments. Genji frowned, “It’s like watching sharks in a feeding frenzy…”

The older sibling moved across the tree to stand beside Genji and look down at the attacking creatures. He didn’t like being this close to them but the swarming was certainly fascinating; there weren’t many opportunities to study them without the chance of getting eaten. “It doesn’t help that you’re chumming the water.”

“I didn’t _do_ anything. They were there and then they started doing _that._ ” Genji gestured to the way they’d separated, forming groups and trying to put space between themselves and other groups. Those caught on the fringes were either attacked and eaten, or snapped at each other and then huddled closer to their respective groups, “They’re doing that pack… thing again. Remember? We saw them do that before…”

They had, back when they were coming over the Rockies during last summer. It was almost like the behavior Hanzo had read about insects having, and up here they did kind of look like insects. “They’re probably just angry about being shoved so close together?” He would’ve liked it to be a statement of fact, but he just wasn’t sure.

“But what about the ones in the middle of those groups? And those, over there that keep to the outsides and attack everything?” It hadn’t been for a lack of the groups trying, some had inched towards the outsiders and then been attacked and, in some cases, killed. Then, the pack would turn on the outsider, as if getting revenge for the death of their packmate. It was interesting, but also terrifying.

Hanzo watched them in abstract horror, eyes widening as he started to see what Genji was seeing. “That’s… odd. I’ve never heard Morrison-san or Reyes-san say anything about this before.” It felt odd not to call them by an honorific when speaking like this to Genji. His eyes began to drift up to each of the groups and watch them, then the outsiders closest to them, closely while retrieving a notebook from his pocket. At some point while living here a notebook had appeared in their room along with a blue pen. He wasn’t sure where it came from but it coincided with his starting patrols outside the base and Hanzo couldn’t help but think that hadn’t been a coincidence.

He’d just never had any reason to use it before.

“Look at those, Genji.” As he started to write down what they were seeing. “They’re staring at us.” It was a group all on their own. They almost looked like the packs except they weren’t writhing, they were just standing there. This group kept just far enough out of the way of the rest that they didn’t attract their attention and _stared_ at the brothers in the trees. None of the others seemed to recognize that they were even still there.

Genji looked back at Hanzo, following his gaze toward the group that was watching them. “I wonder what makes them so still? Do you think maybe they're fresh?” Genji hadn't seen a freshly turned zombie before, but he'd heard stories. People talked in the groups Hanzo and him had been in before, and some said it wasn't like on TV. People didn't die, they just started attacking.

“Maybe…” Hanzo frowned and leaned forward toward them. The one in the center, the one that was _holding eye contact with him,_ leaned forward too. Then it smiled. He jerked backward, watching them turn and move their mouths. “Genji, I think--”

Something dawned on him. This entire time, they’d been hearing the chittering and clicking below and thought it was just noises that the zombies made but now he was watching those still zombies jerk their heads and make more distinct clicks. It wasn’t just noises; it was communication.

They did say that humans were social creatures.

“Genji, run!” Hanzo gasped, starting to turn around as the still ones moved closer around the other zombies and began to set up at the trees around their position. “Climb! Go!” He had a very very bad feeling about this. All his fears were confirmed when one of those still zombies reached up and grabbed a branch above their heads and hoisted themselves into the tree. _“GO!”_

Genji made a confused noise and looked down before he yelled out an, “Oh shit!” If Hanzo thought he'd been fast up a tree before, he hadn't seen Genji launching himself up a tree because _there were zombies climbing up behind him._ Higher up, he stared down as the others parted out of the way for the ‘still ones’. He swallowed nervously. That seemed… bad. Very, very bad.

“Genji, we have to get across one of these trees! Find one they aren’t in!” Hanzo gasped, looking around them for an escape route. There wasn’t one, each of the trees they could jump into already had a zombie making their way up. That was the point though, wasn’t it. They could have walked right to the tree they were in but they didn’t, they went to trees they’d have to _go to_ to get away. “Genji, they’re hunting us.”

“Don’t _say that!”_ Genji whined as he balanced on the balls of his feet, going for his shuriken to _make_ a path when the tree suddenly gave a violent shudder. He shrieked, catching himself on the trunk. “Hanzo!” His voice pitched up. He didn’t think the fact that the packs below had stopped squabbling and were slamming against the tree needed saying. “Hanzo, what do we do?!”

“I don’t _know!”_ Hanzo cried out as he quickly moved to hug the branch below him and pull his bow. When he took out an arrow from the quiver, multiple others fell out to the ground and he grimaced. Sure, he’d packed extra, but he couldn’t exactly afford to be dropping them like that. “Just… Just make sure I don’t fall out of this tree!” He couldn’t nock an arrow to cut them a path if he was barely able to hang on.

Genji nodded, scooting along against the shaking to grab Hanzo with one arm and the trunk with the other. “I...I think I’ve got you.”

“You _think?”_ Hanzo asked, looking over his shoulder in alarm but didn’t have time to question it further. Those zombies were moving fast and the tree was still shaking. He pulled the arrow back and looked down the shaft, aiming before letting it fly. The first arrow hit the branch he was sitting on as it shook violently up and down. “I need to lean out further. _Please,_ don’t let me fall.”

“Well, _I’m sorry_ but trying to hold someone who is _firing an arrow_ while _zombies_ are _trying to knock the tree we’re in over_ isn’t an exact science!” Genji snapped back. “I’m doing my best!”

“Suck less.” Hanzo leaned out and grit his teeth tightly, gripping Stormbow as he did and readied another arrow. He let a second one fly and this one hit the mark right between the eyebrows, pinning it to the tree with a sickening thud.

“Fuck you! If you’re so good, you should be able to do this _alone._ ”

“I can shoot _you_ next.” Hanzo loosed another arrow and this one found its home buried in the nasal bridge of the zombie in the tree to the left. He wasn’t planning on going for this exit only to end up getting caught by one of the ones nearby. He leaned the other direction.

Genji snorted, “Of _course_ you could, but you won’t.”

“You’re right,” Hanzo hummed, taking aim at the next one in the tree. This time it took two shots because this one had gotten keen to him and _ducked._ “I’d fall.”

Genji stopped in the banter to stare at the zombie. “It ducked…” He whispered. “It _ducked!”_ He whined. “Why did it duck?”

“I don’t fucking _know!”_ He put the bow away and pulled Genji’s arm off him so he could get up and then help his brother up. “I don’t care to stick around long enough to find out, either! Go-- Across to the other tree. You first, _otouto._ I’ll make sure none of them climb up this tree.”

There was a noise of protest as Genji gave him an alarmed look and then lunged, catching himself on a branch and pulling himself up, “Come on!”

Hanzo nodded as he swallowed harshly, lining up his jump so that he could run directly down the large tree branch and launch himself at the second one. What he hadn’t counted on was the fact that the zombies would change their direction. As he ran for the tree Genji was in, they moved from shaking the first tree to shaking this second one. They hadn’t been this smart before, what had changed!?

He missed the jump. Hanzo realized too late that when he had made the leap for the second tree that he wasn’t going to make it because the shaking moved it just enough that he couldn’t reach. “No! No no no no-- Genji!”

Genji’s eyes went wide as he lunged, catching his brother’s wrist with a grunt, gritting his teeth as he was slung upside down under the branch. He locked his legs around it and held on tight. “I’ve got you, but I can’t pull you up like this!”

That hand had saved his life but it also nearly ripped Hanzo’s arm loose of it’s socket and flipped him around so that his back hit the tree trunk with a solid _thud!_ The older looked up in terror, eyes locking with Genji’s and then he nodded, gritting his teeth. Was there something else nearby? They needed to keep moving or those climbing zombies were going to catch up. “Swing me! Swing me toward the other branch!” He tensed and lifted his legs to try and start the motion. The next branch wasn’t close enough to catch but with enough momentum and if he timed it right with the shake, perhaps he could make contact. It was their only shot. He only hoped Genji’s shoulder didn’t come out of its socket in the process.

“I don’t think I need to, I-” He hesitantly let go of the branch with his other arm and tensing his abdomen, “I think I can just lower you to the next branch!”

“You’re going to _what!?”_ Hanzo asked, his voice hitching up in fear as he realized Genji was letting go of the branch. The entire tree was still shaking. He quit trying to swing, terrified that if he did Genji would fall and they’d both die.

“You know, like acrobats? I’m just going to lower you to the next branch! It’ll be safer than ‘hoping’ to catch a branch when you swing!” He held out his other hand, “You can climb up after! We’re high enough!”

Moment of truth; time to see if Hanzo possessed the same amount of unwavering trust in Genji as Genji had in him. The older’s eyes flicked back and forth between Genji’s in fear before looking at the second hand. Right now his second hand had clamped itself around Genji’s first wrist to stabilize the connection between them. There was a beat where he almost seemed like he wouldn’t do it before finally letting go of the first wrist and clasping Genji’s other hand. “Please take care of me.”

“I _will._ ” Genji squeezed his hand reassuringly and then slowly leaned back, grimacing at the burn in his muscles. It was a good thing he worked out regularly, but _damn_ , his brother could really stand to work out _less_.

Hanzo looked back down at the base of the tree where the ‘still’ zombies had forced the others back from the base of it and one of them had started to climb up. _“Hurry!”_

Genji’s eyes widened as he looked down and then he bit his lip, “Plan B then! I need you to really trust me for this, I’m going to lift you but I have to swing you up, but I need momentum!”

“Nothing better explode!” Hanzo curled himself up so that he could stay away from the rapidly approaching zombies. “We’ve only got one shot at this, I’ll swing with you! Whatever you’re doing, just do it!”

“Why would something explode?!” Genji cried.

“Plan B always explodes!”

Genji groaned. It was probably some stupid joke that only Hanzo was in on. His brother was a weirdo. He dropped backward, grunting at the impact and tightening his legs before swinging Hanzo a few times for added momentum before swinging all the way up and hoping that Hanzo caught the branch.

He did. For all the bitching about how heavy Hanzo was, that muscle came in handy when he made contact with the branch. He grabbed it easily, letting go of Genji so he could pull himself upright on the branch and then rise into a standing position. They’d stopped shaking it and he wasn’t going to question it. “Go! I’ll follow you! You’re better at this!”

Genji sputtered for a moment and then pulled himself up. He’d so give his brother shit for that later but right now, they needed to get out of here. He scrambled for a higher branch, scouting for only a second before lunging for a suitably wide branch, “This way!”

The older didn’t even question it, launching himself only a bare step behind Genji. “We have to find Jack! We have to leave him supplies!” He called forward, stepping on the branches Genji left just a beat behind him.

“We can worry about that once we lose these guys!”

“Well, _yeah.”_

As if on cue, through the air erupted the sound of Jack’s military-issued pulse rifle off to their right. “There!” Hanzo called, pointing toward it. “Let’s get close enough to tell him we’re here. I don’t want to lead them over there!”

“I don’t know how we’ll avoid that! If he can hear us, they’ll be close enough to hear _him_.”

Hanzo absolutely hated it when Genji had a good point. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a steel whistle painted bright red with ‘76’ carved out of the paint on the side. “I found a whistle in the workshop! If I use it, he could hear us. We drop the supplies a little closer and lead them away!”

Genji frowned, “But what if he comes this way? Maybe we should split up? I can lead them away with the whistle and you can intercept him before he gets over here? I’m fast enough to outrun them…”

“If you leave me, I’m going to fall to my death!” Hanzo whined, looking over his shoulder. “I don’t know, Genji! All I know is he can’t survive out here without food! I don’t know what to do!”

“He can survive one day, let’s go back, maybe we can get some flares or… something to distract them!”

He didn’t want to leave Jack out here. Hanzo looked over to where they heard the pulse rifle and then dropped his pack off his back and put it over the strap on the tree he’d paused on. “There! If he’s out there, maybe he’ll find this!” He then put the whistle to his lips and started to sound on it. It was shrill, loud, and he prayed it would carry to wherever Jack was. He laid the whistle on the bag before moving to catch up with his brother.

“I still don’t think that whistle was a good idea…” Genji mused but then shook his head and hopped to another branch. “This one!”

“And I don’t think leaving the man completely unsupplied is a good idea. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.” Hanzo called back, following the order and jumping to the indicated branch instead of the first one Genji had landed on.

“I’m not saying,” He grunted as he landed on a branch and immediately bounced to another, scrambling up to find stronger branches, and patting the next one his brother should jump to, “leave him unsupplied, I’m saying that drawing his attention over to the swarm of zombies that can _coordinate, climb,_ and _talk_ to each other is a bad idea!”

“Genji, this man outsmarted an explosion. Zombies are the least of his concerns. If we figured out to stay in the trees, I’m sure he can too.” Hanzo waved it off, going for the next branch that Genji had indicated. They were making better time than on the way in, for sure.

“Explosions can’t _think_ , Hanzo. You just have to hide from it. It won't come looking for you!” He scrambled up to the top of a tree to check which direction he should be heading before heading down a few branches and moving to the next, waving for his brother to follow.

“Oh come on,” Hanzo rolled his eyes as he followed Genji when beckoned. “This is Jack. Just,” He made a frustrated noise. “I have faith in him, you should too.” Hanzo wished he could tell how far away they were from the base but he’d just have to wait and see.

“I do! But if he doesn't know about those… things being smart…” Genji just worried about Jack. Especially now. Jack had saved his life. He had a right to worry until the soldier was home safe. Thankfully the packs were still following them and the ones that had climbed didn't seem to be coordinated enough to jump from tree to tree. That was good for them and he hoped that Jack would be alright too. A burst of pulse-rifle rounds both relieved and scared him. They just had to keep moving. Keep leading the packs away.

“I'm going to go the long way!” He said as jumped to another branch and then turned and patted it. “I don't want to lead them back!” He didn’t know what those ‘still’ ones were capable of, but leading a group of zombies that could formulate strategies like those could seemed like a good way to get everyone killed.

At this point, Hanzo no longer questioned Genji’s judgement. He just nodded and followed, mind swimming in the reality that suddenly the threat against them had gotten much, _much_ worse. By the time they got back to base, Hanzo thought his legs were going to fall off but there was just so much to do. He passed right past everyone waiting at the gate for their return, instead going directly into Jack’s workshop to grab an ax. Every tree along the edges of the base had to come down.

“Genji!” He called through the workshop door, holding up a pair of heavy duty gloves. He put them on just long enough to haul out a roll of barbed wire that Jack had been working on in the shop before dropping them on top. He disappeared inside the shop for a bit before returning with a pair of pliers. “I don’t know if it’ll go far enough.”

Genji jogged over, not at all protesting about the work. He was scared of those things getting in. “What about sharpened stakes? We could face them out and just string the barbed wire between them?”

Behind him, Jesse was hot on his heels, having caught the freaked out look on the brothers’ faces. “Hey. What’s the hurry? What’s goin’ on?”

“I can look,” Hanzo nodded, turning back into the warehouse. A large majority of their junk-fence was wooden. The outermost was the original chain-link but there was a secondary fence just inside it that Jack’d built years before. “We’ll have to attach it to the inner wall. The outer wall won’t be strong enough.” He murmured as he found some boards nearby. Jack had been cutting them all to a consistent size and length, though for what he wasn’t sure. They were the right size though. “We could nail these onto the inner fence and then sharpen them once they’re in place.”

It wasn’t like Hanzo to completely ignore Jesse like this but something had clearly taken precedence. 

It was like he wasn’t even there. Jesse furrowed his brow, trying to make out even a fraction of what the brothers were saying but his Japanese was still in progress and almost none of the words were familiar. They had barbed wire out, and an axe. Pliers… what the hell? “Hanzo...hey.” He reached out to catch the older brother, _“Daijoubu?”_

The pronunciation was butchered, but the meaning was clear and it was enough for Hanzo to blink at him a few times and stumble through the language change in his mind. Hanzo looked up at Jesse with the same fear he’d stared at Genji with when he’d been hanging below him in that tree. “We _must_ cut down trees close to wall.” It wasn’t as eloquent as he would have liked. “Protect top of wall. _Need_ sharp wire and spikes.” He’d been speaking to Genji in Japanese all day. Even though he knew English, it took his mind a moment to change gears _especially_ now.

Jesse gave him a confused look, not because he hadn’t understood Hanzo, but because he didn’t quite get why. What had they found out there? He glanced at the trees that shaded parts of the outer wall, limbs reaching over-- Raiders? No, raiders wouldn’t scare them like this.

 _“Atta--”_ Genji started and then stopped, frowning with his eyes still wide, “They could _climb_ .”   
  
“Cli--” The roof. They _had_ been on the roof when he was in Utah! “I _wasn’t_ hearin’-- Fuck!” How many times had he listened to shit outside buildings on runs and just convinced himself it was an animal? “I’ll go grab Reyes n’ ‘Reeha t’ help y’all, I gotta go look at somethin’!” 

_“Hai! Arigatou!”_ Hanzo called from the back of the warehouse where he was looking through Jack’s wall of fasteners to locate some nails. Sure, Brig made a decent nail but she’d have to forgive him if he wanted to use a galvanized heavy-duty one for this application. The last thing they needed were these spikes rusting free.

Jesse bolted before Hanzo had even gotten his thanks out. His mind was suddenly racing as memories of thumps and scrabbling on the roofs of places he’d taken refuge for a night sent a shiver down his spine. He caught himself on a doorway, swinging around and toward the kitchen where he hoped he could find Ana, and by proxy, Fareeha.

Ana was in the kitchen working the loom while the other two cooked their dinner. What she knew how to cook required spices that they didn’t have access to, though god bless Naomí’s ability to make salt and chili peppers into delicious food because otherwise Ana would have starved to death, but she could make fabric. Brigitte had told her that the kid Jack had rescued was very thin and his clothes had been in terrible shape so she was working on some extra soft cotton fabric so that they had something nice to dress him in while he was recovering.

When Jesse walked in, she looked up in confusion and tried to read the fear on his face. “Did they find Jack?” She asked, worried that the expression meant they’d found him and there was nothing left.

“He wasn’t with ‘em, but they weren’t actin’ like he’s in trouble. Us on the other hand? I think we got bigger problems. Hanzo ‘n Genji are freaked out. Where’s Reeha ‘n Jefe? Ya seen ‘em?”

“Fareeha, she should be in her room I think?” Ana asked, pausing in the shuttle action as she focused on Jesse. “I believe Gabe was checking the animals? He was supposed to be checking on the temperature in the coop for the chicks. What’s going on, habibi?”

“I dunno exactly. Couldn’t get much out of ‘em. They’re tryin’ t’ fortify the fence…” He rubbed his neck, “Y’know how I wrote in a lot of my notebooks that I heard shit on the roofs when I was out? They said somethin’ about shit climbin’...I’m startin’ t’ think what I heard wasn’t animals but I’m gonna go back and reread what I wrote…”

“Do they need help?” She asked, starting to slide out from under the weaving apparatus. If there was a threat to their safety, a new apron for Naomí would just have to wait. “I can go find Fareeha for you. You wanted Gabriel too? I will help them, this is more important than fabric.”

“Yeah, I can’t really help them out like this but I _know_ I wrote shit down about things bein’ weird out there.” He glanced back where he’d come from and chewed the inside of his cheek, “They’re tryin’ t’ drop the trees that grow over the fence and… I think make the top of the wall safer? They were after bob wire ‘n planks when I left.”

Ana nodded, gathering her shoes near the door and began to pull the old boots on. They’d been fixed so many times they were more Jack’s patches than they were original Army boot but they did the trick. “I’ll gather my daughter for you, don’t worry.” She promised, heading out the back door and across the courtyard to the barracks. The rooms were originally meant to house four GI’s each but now they’d been assigned to families. Brigitte, Ingrid and Thyr in one, Ana and Fareeha--now separated by a curtain since Fareeha wasn’t in the mood to speak with her mother--in another, Hanzo and Genji in one, Jack and Gabe in one, and Jesse had one to himself.

“‘Reeha,” Ana called into the room, deciding not to walk through the curtain. If Fareeha wanted to be an adult, she could be an adult in her own space. “They need your help outside.”

“Sure,” Fareeha looked up from the scrap of cloth with horrid excuses for various stitching patterns. “What do they need?” Any excuse to get out of here and go do something _useful_ was greatly appreciated.

“They’re felling trees, apparently.” Ana explained, walking further in so she could gather her leather coat. If she was going to be out there working, she didn’t want to get cold. Egypt never got anywhere close seventeen degrees and that was a _high_ in Colorado at this time of year. Mm, no. Egypt got no lower than eighteen degrees centigrade at this time of year. There was no way she was going out without a coat.   
  
Fareeha gave an interested noise and grabbed a light sweater from where it was draped over a hand-carved chair. “I thought we had plenty of firewood.”   
  
Ana gave her daughter a long suffering noise before walking back out the door to find Gabriel next. As she passed by the next door and realized Brigitte was inside trying to get herself dressed--this girl always knew instinctively when there was work to be done--and she stopped by. “Do you know how to make ‘bob wire’?”

“Barbed wire? Ye. Jack taught me how.” Brigitte commented. She still looked beat down, but the food and rest had done wonders for her. The fact that she was already back on her feet surprised Ana. “The boys are going to be using a lot of it. They might need more?” Ana just hoped that this girl could make that while sitting down. It might keep her from climbing on top of a fence.

“Oh! I’ll go out and help then!” Brigitte chimed, smiling brightly before grabbing the cane that had been provided to her to help with the mild limp she had and started on her way to the front yard.

“Good girl,” Ana smiled, walking around the main building toward the animal pens behind. “Gabriel?”

Gabe’s head popped up with a _thunk_ , and then he cursed as he forgot about the low ceiling. “Ow!” He stuck his head out with a grimace, “Yeah? What’s up, Ana?”

“They need your help out front.” She said, jerking a thumb toward the other side of their semi-circle ‘lawn’ of sorts. “As I understand it, something scary can climb and now it’s all hands on deck to reinforce the fence. It explains how that creature got into one of the coops.” They had a lot of coops because chicken was a major meat source for the group and the nitrogen in their dung was good to add back onto Jack’s fields. Corn really did a number on the soil and there was only so much that peanuts and string beans could do on their own.

Gabe frowned. It had climbed in? That explained so much. “Yeah, I’ll head right over. Can you check on the little grey chick? I think it might be a rooster.”

She groaned. Sexing a chicken was disgusting but she sighed and reached down to snag the grey chick. Ana _knew_ that Gabe knew how to do this, he was the resident caretaker to their animals, but in the interest of saving him time, she would do it for him. She squeezed the little chick then turned it over to check for the bump inside. “Yeah, it’s a rooster.” Ana grumbled, dropping the chick back on the ground and grabbed for the bar of soap they kept on the back porch to wash her hands. She always felt bad man handling them but the chicks didn’t seem to care.

Gabe already knew it, or at least suspected, but he always double checked. Sometimes, he just liked to mess with his friends, particularly Ana and an impromptu visit while he sexed chicks provided the perfect opportunity. “Thanks,” he called back over his shoulder as he walked away. “I'll separate him out later!” The coop that had just been ripped apart would need a new rooster. He separated them so he could watch for the best of the bunch, and the smaller, weaker males ended up as dinner.

 _‘Tch, what an asshole.’_ Ana rolled her eyes and finished rinsing her hands out with some water from a bucket before following him along to the front portion of the compound. As she turned the corner, the scene that greeted her was one of a busy hive working. Brigitte was sitting on a chair with a thick work mat over her lap and gloves on so she could add barbs to a spool of smooth wire for them to use. Hanzo had actually already managed to chop through one of the smaller trees and was working on a second. He was leaving them where they landed because taking them down was more important than moving them.

Fareeha was lifting pieces of split and sharpened plank and wire up to Genji. The spikes were faced outward, creating a barrier to keep anything from coming over quite so easily and then wrapped with barbed wire.

Gabe jogged over to Hanzo. The kid was doing good, but he could probably use help. “So they climb now?” The prospect was scary… so naturally Gabe wanted to know more about it.

 _“Hai,”_ Hanzo acknowledged, picking up a second ax and handing it to the man without looking at him. “They climb. They’re smart. They talk to each other.” He started for the next tree in the line, swinging at the side that faced away from the fence and beginning a large wedge in it.

“They… talk? How so?” Gabe frowned as he hefted the axe onto his shoulder and started for another tree. No one has ever heard a zombie talk before. Not even Jesse on any of his trips out to various towns and military bases.

“They make noises, they gesture--” He shrugged heavily, taking another good chunk out of the tree. “They clearly understand each other.” Hanzo looked up, red in the face as he ripped the ax out of the tree. “They _watched_ us, Gabe. They watched us and then they sent the other ones that couldn’t climb to _shake_ the tree we were in.”

 _Whunk!_ The axe in Gabe's hands imbedded deep in the tree, sending vibrations up his arms. “I--” He brushed a hand through the longer hair at the front of his head, “Wow. That's--” Terrifying. That was terrifying. A tinge of fear and worry shot through him again as he thought of Jack. Jack was still out there with those things.

 _“Exactly,”_ Hanzo replied, stopping to catch his breath and point the ax at Gabe. “Exactly. ‘Wow’ is all I could think too. I left the cache that I brought for Jack, Genji told me not to, but I did. I signaled it with his whistle and then we led them away. We’re going to go back tomorrow… I’m hoping it won’t be there when we go back.”

“I did _not_ say don't leave the cache! I said that I thought blowing the _whistle_ and attracting his attention to where _intelligent_ zombies that can _climb_ and _strategize_ was a _bad idea_!” Genji shouted from not too far away.

“How was he supposed to find it if we didn’t signal him?” Hanzo snarked, turning back at Genji with his hands on his hips. “Oh, yes, let’s leave a bag full of food for a man who has no idea it’s there and no idea where to look? That’s a _great_ plan. Jack can climb and strategize too!”

“And I'm sure he'd have a great plan, _if he knew about them_.”

Gabe chuckled as he finally yanked his axe out of the tree and then swung again. Part of him wanted to side with Genji, but Hanzo had a good point. Besides, Jack was a more adept survivalist than Genji was giving him credit for. “Jack will be fine.”

“See?” Hanzo gestured to Gabe with a self satisfied expression. “His--uh… _Ano,”_ He looked at Gabe and then shrugged, “Significant other sides with me!”

Gabe laughed, pulled his dog tags out of his shirt and held them up where a simple band hung next to the tags before tucking them away, “Husband.”

“Husband! Even better!”

“So, how exactly…” Genji's head popped over the fence. “Who proposed?”

“I...well, we… both did?” Gabe chuckled softly.

Hanzo stopped after he buried the ax into the tree again, looking back at Gabe in confusion before pulling it free. “How does _that_ happen?”

“Its-- okay, buckle up, it's a long story.”

“It's hilarious too!” Fareeha chimed in as she nailed the bottom of a spike in place.

Gabe swung his axe and stepped out of the way as his tree began to creak, “I'd been trying to get Jack to _date_ me for _years._ He wouldn't have any of it. Always had something to say.” He gestured with his hands, emphasizing certain words. “Wasn’t professional, relationships were a liability… if there was a reason he could give me, he did. Probably didn't help that after all the SEP stuff was over and our squad got put together, we didn't get talk until our first block leave… and wouldn't you know it? Boy scout was designated driver.”

Genji mouthed the word, _‘Ouch,’_ and then pointedly stared at Hanzo. If that didn't sound familiar… okay well, maybe not completely. Hanzo was ice cold… not liquid nitrogen.

Hanzo flipped him off.

Gabe continued as if he hadn't noticed, “So the first time I ever flirted with him, I was a tiny bit tipsy. Me and some of the guys had a drinking contest to see how much we could put away.” He shrugged, “Things you get curious about when you suddenly have accelerated healing.”

“I mean I would be,” Genji chimed in with a laugh.

“I wish I was surprised by that,” Hanzo groaned. He’d thought Gabe was above those sorts of shenanigans and Genji? Well, it was Genji.

Gabe snorted, “He got mad, thought the _only_ reason I was flirting was because I had alcohol in me and… he wasn't totally wrong about the alcohol part…” It wasn't called liquid courage for nothing. “He was about everything else he said.” He started walking for the next tree, “I'd been trying to talk to him for _months_ but, Jack has never been particularly social. Hard to get close to, hard to talk to--”

“Sounds like someone _else_ we know,” Genji stared in Hanzo's direction again.

Hanzo flipped him off again.

Gabe pursed his lips to hide the smile, “After that, I tried asking him again a few days later. I got stared down. He didn't say _a word_.”

Genji raised his eyebrow in Hanzo's direction.

Hanzo’s hand was going to end up stuck in that position.

“So I tried to talk to him more, you know, small talk and stuff.” He sighed, “The first time, he had headphones in. Got up and walked out without ever noticing I was sitting there.”

Genji groaned, “Okay, I have to give you that one, Hanzo. You at least _noticed_ Jesse.” He was rewarded for his efforts with a frown.

“Finally… _finally_ , I get him to talk to me a little.” Gabe was leaning on his axe, “And I ask him to go to the movies. And he asks me if it's a date!” His voice pitched up a little as if, even though he knew what had come next, the question still excited him a little, “And my dumb ass said yes.”

Fareeha was snickering, because she knew. She _knew_ what came next and even though she'd heard the story so much she could tell it word for word to someone else, she still found it hilariously sad.

“And you know what he said?” Gabe chuckled, “It wasn't a ‘nah’ or a ‘not right now’, he just gives me the most stony look I have ever seen and goes 'No’.” Gabe had mimicked the cold, flat tone that Jack had used on him so many years ago that he didn't think his husband was _capable_ of using on him now.

“Alright,” Hanzo finally admitted while trying desperately not to laugh, “So apparently Jack is a _god.”_

“That's cold.” Gabe chuckled, “That is _really_ cold.”

“No--” Hanzo put up a hand as he began to laugh so hard he was reduced to wheezes, “Hear me out! If you’re _this_ attractive now, imagine how beautiful you must have been when you were our age! He’s a _legend_ to hold out for so long.”

Genji raised his eyebrows at his brother, “Hanzo!” He gave a scandalized gasp, “I had no idea you into _older men_.”

“Can’t I just think someone is attractive?” Hanzo whined, “It’s like noticing that the sky is blue or that you’re an idiot.”

Gabe almost lost his grip on the handle of the axe and leaned forward with a wheeze of laughter.

“I have to live with that.” Genji gestured at his brother with a flat expression.

“I'm,” Gabe coughed from laughing so hard, “I'm failing to see an issue, kiddo.”

“Continue the story!” Fareeha called, “You haven't even gotten to the best part!”

“Alright, alright.” Gabe chuckled as he picked up the axe to work on his tree. “So I wise up, start paying attention. He was always reading or drawing. So, I ask him if he wants to go off-base with me, because I'd heard there was a new bookstore in town. I mean, I figured, he was always reading, he had to get tired of the same old books…” He shrugged as he pulled the axe out of the tree. “And so I ask and I swear that was the only 'yes’ I had heard come out of his mouth that wasn't proceeded and/or followed by the word 'sir’. It was also the only 'yes’ I got out of him for like a year after too.”

 _“Sugoi,”_ Hanzo breathed before nodding in affirmation. “He’s a legend… _You’re_ a legend!”

“I'm sorry?” Gabe's brows furrowed. He figured he knew why Hanzo was impressed by Jack, but why him?

“ _Traditionally_ ,” Genji rolled his eyes, “In Japan, a suitor is rejected several times and is expected to ask again but _usually,”_ He stared at Hanzo, “Said suitor is _Japanese_ , and _understands_ that.”

“That is the most _simplified--”_ Hanzo was clearly not happy with his explanation of the entire process. “There’s usually a matchmaker and-- It doesn’t matter. They’re legends.”

“I was _talking_ about _Jesse._ ”

“I _wasn’t.”_ Hanzo frowned, folding his arms tightly. “Why does everything have to go back to him, Genji? Should I tell him that you’re interested?”

Gabe chuckled, “I don't think he's Jesse's type.” Gabe knew what Jesse had to say in private, and while he adored Hanzo, the cowboy basically saw Genji as a younger brother and nothing more.

“Finish your story,” Hanzo huffed, pulling his ax up and took another swing at the tree. “I want to know what happens.”

“Fast forward to omniums going haywire. Me 'n Jack became friends, really good friends. I had stopped asking him about going out with me because at some point… the idea of losing my best friend didn't really seem worth anything I might gain.” Gabe turned the ax over in his hands, staring at it for a moment. In that way, he knew exactly what Jesse was going through.

“Sometimes, the risk just isn’t worth the potential reward,” Hanzo murmured and it seemed as though he might know that from a personal perspective.

“Yeah,” Gabe agreed and he hoped Hanzo understood. “It was kinda funny actually, I took him home to meet my mother long before we were ever together. Worse yet, she _adored_ him. My mother _hates everyone_ . She hated the _mailman_ for being a minute late _once!”_ Gabe shook his head, “And then this white boy walks through the front door speaking damn near perfect Spanish and I thought she was going to steal him from me! Worse yet, he showed more interest in my _mother_ than I'd ever seen him show _anyone._ ”

Even Hanzo had to smile at himself, even through his funk. “Your mother sounds like a woman of good taste.”

“She was.” Gabe smiled fondly, and then shook his head. “So. We'd been fighting omnics on and off for a couple months and were doing pretty okay!” The keyword was ‘were’. “Top brass got it in their skulls that _because_ we were doing so well, we could _definitely_ handle more. Dropped us in the middle of nowhere near an omnium that's just cranking out Bastions and all other kind of nasty shit.” He paused to take a swing at the tree, “We're up to our eyeballs in the damn things and he looks over at me and if I didn't know any better, I'd have sworn it was a threat. He tells me, 'If we make it out of here, Gabi, you're _stuck with me.’”_

Genji leaned forward, almost looking like he'd topple over the fence with an almost childish, “Oooo.”

Gabe swung the axe again with a grunt, “So I told him, ‘marry me and make it official.’ I was joking. We hadn't even dated, hadn't kissed. Nothing. He looks me dead in the eye and says, 'Deal.’ I thought _he_ knew I was joking and didn't think about it again. We get back to base and he shows up with a ring the next fucking day.”

“He’s a legend,” Hanzo whispered reverently, letting the ax dip rather than taking another swing at his tree. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

Genji deadpanned at his brother, “Don't you read _romance novels_? There is nothing romantic about that!”

“It gets better,” Fareeha laughed, smacking Genji's shoulder playfully.

“I should _hope so_!”

Gabe laughed loudly, “Oh no, what she means is… I thought Jack was fucking with me. We were engaged for a year before I figured out he was dead serious.”

“Yeah, y'all were a fuckin' mess.” Jesse chimed in playfully as he loped over and plopped down on the ground with a box full of spiral-bound notebooks, some of them with slips of paper marking pages.

“Decide to do some light reading instead of actual work? You need to stop hanging out with Genji, mijo, he's rubbing off.”

“You say that as if Genji would be caught _dead_ reading.” Jesse and Hanzo said in unison. It was obvious that these two had been spending quite a lot of time together recently.

“Oh God, now there's two of him,” Genji groaned.

“We use osmosis in our sleep to equalize the amounts of sass.” Hanzo commented flatly, smirking in his little brother’s direction.

“You two certainly were _close enough_ last night.”

Gabe blinked, turning a confused look at Hanzo.

“Last night I was out running from zombies with you, Genji, or are you already going senile?”

Jesse snorted and then cackled, “But Hanzo, that insinuates he had a brain first. Can't lose what wasn't there.”

“Too true,” Hanzo hummed in agreement, “I shook him once, just to be sure. There was silence. That’s how I knew, it was the first time he’d been silent since birth.”

Genji hopped down and grabbed a handful of grass and then pulled himself back over to dump it on Hanzo's head.

“I stand corrected,” Hanzo huffed as he tried to shake the grass out of his hair, “He’s been silent _twice._ Were you going to finish this story or are you both still together but not? Because that would be really sad.”

Gabe smiled mischievously, “You watched him kiss me. You decide.”

Hanzo squinted at him, giving a shrug, “I mean, that’s just the sort of thing someone stuck in your situation would say."

Gabe snorted, chuckled and shook his head, “No, we did end up sorting it out… we got married in Vegas.”

Jesse snorted, “That ain't the whole story and you know it, _Jefe_ . Tell 'im _how_ ya ended up married in Vegas.”

“Fine, fine.” He grumbled playfully as he took his axe to the next tree, “Jack showed up after we were engaged for I don't know, a year maybe? I'd completely forgotten about it all, still wore the ring on my tags but I didn't think anything of it. _Jack_ certainly hadn't made any moves--”

“Because Jack is a _legend.”_

“I'm feelin’ like I missed somethin’.”

“Isn't that usually the case?” Fareeha shot back.

“Fuck off!”

“So Jack shows up with tickets to Vegas and I'm not sure what they're about. Figured maybe he wanted to go have a guy's night or some shit and he goes and tells me I promised him a marriage.”

“Sounds like Jack don’ it?” Jesse mumbled.

“Shh--” Hanzo gave a wave as he watched Gabe intently. “Jack is a legend. They’re both legends. Shh, what happens next?”

Jesse's brow furrowed and a tiny frown pulled at the corner of his mouth before he dipped his head back down to flip through the notebook in his hand. He probably was better off not questioning it. Besides, he needed to find all the important bits in his old journals… and try not to cringe at his younger self.

“I told him I thought he was joking about the marriage thing… he said he thought I was a prude. Me. The one who had been chasing him _for years_. I was the prude. I cleared that one right up for him.”

“Ha!” Hanzo barked out a laugh, actually clapping a few times and rubbing the tears from his eyes as he returned to chopping the tree. It didn’t have much left in it at this point so it would only take a couple more swings and a good shove in the right direction. “Jack is a legend.”

Gabe chuckled and shook his head, “So yeah, that's how technically… we both proposed.”

“You’re my heroes, both of you.” Hanzo smiled brightly, finally felling the large tree he’d been working on before letting the ax fall and rubbing his hands together so he could try to get them warm. He looked around and noticed Jesse sitting on the ground and decided to warm them over there. So Hanzo walked behind Jesse, knelt down and promptly began warming his fingers under Jesse’s jacket so that his hands crossed over the man’s chest before resting his chin on top of his head. “Gabe chased Jack for years. He’s a _legend,_ Jesse.”

Jesse gave a grunt at the cold fingers, a shiver running down his spine before he clasped Hanzo's hands in his right hand to warm them. Is that what it'd take? _‘Don’t give up, mijo. Just be patient.’_ Jesse gave a slight chuckle, “He's definitely persistent. That's for sure.”

“That’s a long time, even by my standards.” Hanzo hummed, turning so his cheek was against his hair instead of his chin and enjoyed the warmth for a while. “Jack’s also my new hero. Who looks at Gabe and says ‘no’ that many times? I mean, really.”

Jesse wasn't quite sure what that meant but it certainly sounded… odd and not in a way that would be good for his heart. He couldn't even tell what was going on between them, and now? He was wishing things could go back to napping under an apple tree and not worrying about any of this. He flipped a page over and scanned it, trying to find any mention of those weird zombies.

The archer glanced up from where he was laying on Jesse, trying to decide if that had landed where it was meant to… and it didn’t seem to. So he pulled back, chewing his lip. “Thanks for the uhm, warmth.” Hanzo smiled, pulling his hands free and getting up so he could put gloves back on. “They’re really quite inspiring!”

Jesse looked up, confused as to why Hanzo was pulling away. Despite his better judgement, the one convinced he was just in for heartache, held out his hand to try to pull Hanzo back down.

He turned back around, noticing the hand and then smiled some. Jack was truly a legend; Hanzo didn’t have the wherewithal to deny that. So he took the hand and came back to sit beside him on his knees and fiddle with the calloused hand he held between both of his own. “I don’t remember Japan very well, but I remember that… in certain cases, it was customary not to accept things. Apologies, mainly, but also… the first offer made through a matchmaker.”   
  
He swallowed and continued looking over his fingers. “If a suitor was rejected but they continued to try, it showed their tenacity and dedication. Gabe continued to try for years and I think that’s very romantic.” Hanzo gave a little shrug, finally looking up and smiling brightly enough that his eyes squinted so that Jesse couldn’t see how badly he wished the cowboy would understand. “Sometimes it’s nice to be so important to someone that they’re willing to try for as long as it takes.”

Jesse's brow furrowed deeper and then he looked down at the hands messing with his own, mulling on the words as Reyes shuffled the other two away so that they couldn't ruin anything, likely for Jesse. He was glad that Reyes was moving them away. The last thing he needed was for a sibling to say something stupid. He didn't know how to respond. He understood, it made sense and in a way, allowed him to tamp down a few of the demons that reminded him regularly that Hanzo was out of his league.

“You are important to me…” He finally managed out in barely a whisper, hunched over and waiting for what he assumed was an inevitable rejection. “More’n you know.” It probably wasn't what Hanzo wanted to hear out of him, but Jesse had to get it out. He also knew all those little demons would have a heyday with the rejection that was sure to come, but he needed to say it.

Hanzo gently pulled his hand free of Jesse’s and then reached out slowly, as if he were afraid of scaring the man, to pull his face up and out of his knees. It took a bit of doing, some scooting and shimmying before Han was in front of him and looking him in the eyes, but once he was there the archer smiled genuinely. “If you think you can tolerate me that long, then I look forward to your tenacity.” He smiled and leaned in to gently brush their lips together.

“Tolerate ya? Darlin’, there ain't no tolerate about it. I love bein’ around ya. Yer smart, 'n funny, an--” Jesse's eyes widened as Hanzo cut him off with another kiss, this one deeper than the first.

“You talk too much, cowboy.” Hanzo chuckled as he pulled back, stroking his thumbs over the proud beard while looking at Jesse like he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“See if I compliment ya ever again,” Jesse grumbled teasingly, even as his eyes crinkled up in a smile

“I thought that was the idea?” Hanzo leaned forward to brush their noses together teasingly before finally needing to stand back and return to his job. “You’re stuck with me, cowboy.”

“S'long as we don't get married in Vegas.” Jesse teased, seeming content to let Hanzo get back to work.

Hanzo let the ax swing into the tree before shrugging, “Vegas is too far away.”

“Not by horse.” Jesse had returned to his notebooks with a bright-eyed smile that almost looked like nothing could bring him back down.

“That poor horse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy so, this is a bigg'n.


	11. Chapter 11

It was late and he should really be in bed right now but every time he closed his eyes the image of that zombie _smiling_ at him was waiting and Hanzo couldn’t think about anything else. He’d tried all the usual methods of going to sleep, all the ones that usually worked. He’d tried warm tea, he’d tried jogging, _hell,_ he’d even tried crawling over there with Genji which had worked when he was a child. None of it had any effect on his nightmares. He barely fell asleep and that face woke him right back up again.

Hanzo had wandered into the kitchen and made himself two cups of hot tea, covered in his blanket and filled them with as much honey as he could stand. Jesse would still probably find them not sweet enough. Speaking of Jesse, that was where this trip was headed. Jesse would be outside doing the watch at the fence and Hanzo hoped that being near him would be enough to soothe the worry. That’s what had worked the morning before.

So he took his matching mugs and headed out of the compound, past the inner gate and out toward where Jesse would be walking the fence. He didn’t know who had put the old lawn chairs out here but there had always been a pair of reclining chairs out there where you could pretty well see most of the fence. That was probably for Jack or Gabe, one of the older men with the bad joints who needed to sit down every so often.

Today, Hanzo planned to use them to finally catch some rest.

“Jesse?” Hanzo called as he looked around and watched his breath fog up. This blanket might not be enough… it was a pretty thick quilt but now he was worried. His feet were freezing inside his boots. “Jesse?”

The cowboy was actually along the inner wall, checking for structural damage when he heard Hanzo and jogged over. “Hey, Hanzo, what's the matter?”

“I--” Well now he felt stupid for being out here. Why did he do this? Jesse was going to think he was a small child now. He offered one of the mugs of tea with a sheepish smile and shrugged, “I brought you some tea?”

“Oh!” Jesse's eyes lit up as he looked down at the mug and then took it gratefully, beaming at Hanzo. “Thanks, darlin’.” He cupped his hands around the mug letting it warm his fingers and breathing in the steam before taking a sip and letting out a pleased noise, “Oh, that hit the spot. I was freezing…”

 _“Yokatta,”_ Hanzo smiled, holding his own mug and sipping at the tea before looking up at the sky. “Would you sit down with me?” He gestured to the two lawn chairs that he realized were still pushed together from the last time Jack had been out here with Gabe. They were sweet and he wished he’d noticed it sooner.

“Yeah, of course!” Their conversation earlier had lifted his spirits and he wiggled into one of the chairs and waited for Hanzo to join him.

Hanzo settled into the second chair with his cup of tea and blanket before changing position to instead be leaning on Jesse and tossed the blanket over him as well to share his warmth. He was quiet for a while, listening to the heartbeat that he could barely hear through the layers and soaking up warmth from his tea before finally sighing. “I cannot sleep. I see them when I close my eyes.”

Jesse scooted closer, wrapping Hanzo up with a gentle smile. He was less afraid of pushing boundaries as simple as innocent touches now and happily stroked Hanzo's hair. He enjoyed the quiet for a moment, eyes closing in the peacefulness of it all. He let out a small upset noise when Hanzo confessed that he couldn't sleep, tugging the archer closer to him gently. “Yeah, I'm… I've run into those kind before… just never realized it at the time.”

“They’re not meant to be able to climb like this, Jesse…” He whimpered, putting his tea on the small lawn table that was placed to the left of the chairs and then curled up tighter into Jesse’s side. He was so tired and everything caused him to jump again.

“I know, I don't like it either. It… makes me realize a lot of things I don't wanna consider.” The arm on the ground in Utah. The sounds on the roofs of buildings, knowing he'd been alone and yet they hadn't come after him. He shivered, and not entirely because it was cold.

“I don’t wish to talk about it. I just want to listen.”

“Sorry darlin’,” Jesse murmured, “What d'ya wanna listen to?”

 _“Anata no kokoro.”_ Hanzo responded easily, tapping Jesse’s sternum and got more comfortable so he could listen to the heartbeat inside and be soothed by it and the rhythm of his breathing. Everything from the strong arm around him to even the way Jesse _smelled_ made him feel more comfortable.

Jesse cracked a smile at Hanzo, eyes crinkling in a way that accentuated the very beginnings of crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. God, he loved this man. He settled down in the chair, gently scratching Hanzo's back and bowing his head to bury his nose in Hanzo's hair.

This seemed to be the ticket. Once he’d squirmed around enough to get comfortable and essentially hid his face in the crook of Jesse’s arm, Hanzo was out for the count. All he needed was Jesse there to hold him through the initial fear. He must have been exhausted to fall asleep so quickly.

Jesse held Hanzo until his right arm had gone numb and his leg was damn near close before he slowly shifted and nudged Hanzo around until the archer was in a position that Jesse could lift him up without disturbing him too much.

He carried Hanzo back to the archer's room, gently looking down at him as if Hanzo was the most precious thing he could imagine. Occasionally, his smile would widen as he remembered a particularly fond memory and he'd plant the faintest of kisses on top of Hanzo's head.

Untangling himself from Hanzo was an entirely different matter. His mouth quirked to the side in confusion as he realized that the archer had basically turned into an octopus and probably suction cupped to him. The thought made him chuckle and, after some finessing, he finally extracted himself, pulling Hanzo's blanket up over the archer and planting a final kiss on his temple. “Sleep well, darlin’.”

“He loves you, you know…”

Jesse startled, not knowing that Genji was awake and turned, brows furrowed.

“I’ve never seen him act the way he does around you.”

Jesse looked back at Hanzo with a fond expression and then smiled at Genji, “I love ‘im too. I love ‘im a lot.”

“I know. You two are really cute together. I’m glad he found you.”

Under the otherwise sweet tone, there was a hint of sadness. Jesse felt like he knew why, and in a way, felt bad for Genji. It was rough out here and most people left alive weren’t decent folks you wanted to bring home to meet your parents. Reassurances that Genji would find someone someday too just seemed too hollow and unlikely so Jesse sat on the edge of Genji’s bed and rubbed his shoulder, “I’m glad I met the both of ya. Yer a good little brother, and an even better friend.”

“Go away, you sap!” Genji groaned, shoving at him. “Save the tooth rot for Hanzo!”

Jesse chuckled and ruffled Genji’s hair, much to the younger ninja’s dismay before heading for the door. “I gotta get back on patrol. Sleep well.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Jesse left the room with a grin, stopping by his room to pick up a few explosives and a spear he'd rigged up to fire shotgun rounds on impact. It'd taken more experimenting, black powder and rounds than he'd have liked, but it worked and he didn't have to use both hands. The night had barely started and the prospect of zombies that could hunt _him_ rather than the other way around left him on edge and uneasy.

He shouldered the spear and headed back outside. A shiver ran through him as the wind cut under his jacket and he pulled it tighter around him. He turned for his tea, hoping it hadn't gone cold.

Thankfully, it was still a little warm. He drained it with a sigh as it warmed him from the inside out. He loved when Hanzo took care of him like this. He turned and started walking, checking the fences and walls to make sure that nothing could make it in.

A rattle against the fence had his blood run cold. His head snapped up to a zombie against the back gate, watching him. He stared at it, hand tightening on his spear. It tilted its head at him and clicked a bit. _'Talking… Fuck me. It's talking.’_

It reached through the gate at the chain, grasping at it and lifting it up, then shoving another hand through the chain link to grab the lock and pull. His mind screamed to stop it but he couldn't make his body move. The chain rattled but thankfully, they had changed the lock and it couldn't be opened by just pulling on it like before. They _had_ opened the gate though. Now he had proof.

Jesse hands shook as it seemed to give up on the chain, grumbling to itself and then looking at him again. _'Kill it. Kill it now before it learns anything else!’_

He couldn't make himself move closer. What if it was setting him up? If only he had his gun.

It grabbed the gate and pulled, rattling the fence in frustration. It clicked softly, looked up and Jesse shook his head. _'Oh, don't you--’_

It pulled itself up the gate, staring at the spikes and barbed wire as if those additions had insulted its ancestors. It tried to grab the barbed wire and jerked its hand back with an offended screech.

Jesse couldn't help the mocking, “Ha!” Until it parroted it back at him. He regretted it then. He pulled one of his explosives from his belt, holding it and his makeshift lighter in one hand.

The zombie was clicking again, but this time, there were responses. His heart pounded and head snapped to the side every time he heard one respond. His mind snapped to the points in the fence they hadn't had the supplies to reinforce. They had waited for him to come out on patrol. He was alone and hurt and they knew it. The one on the gate kept staring at his left arm, hung down at his side uselessly.

It was testing the spikes, carefully placing its hand where there was no wire and jostling it. One wiggled. Jesse's heart skipped a beat as it clicked to the others. His breathing picked up. He needed to get inside. He needed to warn everyone. He took a step back. More clicks. They were broadcasting his movements.

A flash of movement on his left caught his eye and he whirled, wincing as he shoved the lighter into his left hand and flicked it a couple times, each time nearly stopping his heart. The fuse took. He almost choked on the relieved laugh as he lobbed it and it exploded into a ball of shrapnel and fire.

He didn't have time to think. The one on the gate was screeching. He grabbed his spear and bolted. Another was running at him and gaining fast. “Shit!” He changed direction so that he wasn't on an intercept course with it. It turned too, following him. He skidded to a halt and spun as it got close, jabbing his spear out as the mental image of Hanzo, happily asleep flickered in his mind.

 _Bang!_ The spear went off as the creature slammed its full weight into him and knocked him backwards. There were still more. He could hear the screeches and clicks. He fumbled for another explosive, shoving the creature off and trying to scramble to his feet. He took off running again. He needed to get back to the front gate.

Hanzo's face, smiling as they talked about whatever subject caught their attention for the day, made him choke. He couldn't fight them all off like this.

Footsteps and more unnerving chattering. His heart raced and tears brimmed in his eyes as he caught sight of others gathered against the fence in the light of the fire from his first bomb. They had found the weak points. He lit the fuse and lobbed it as two more came at him. He had to keep going.

The sounds of shotguns echoed from the front of the compound. Reyes was awake. Maybe he had a chance. Another was behind him. He could hear it running. Maybe if he was just fast enough, he'd be okay.

He cursed as another one joined the chase, off to the side. They were blocking him in between them and a wall. That was the worst part. He _knew_ what they were doing and yet, he was powerless to stop it. He just had to hope he could outrun them.

He rounded a corner and his breath caught in his throat. Between him and freedom was a line of them waiting. An ambush.

His eye ached something fierce, but he had nothing to channel it into. He was dead. He was so very dead. Reyes was too far. There was no way Reyes could reach him in time. He swallowed as his entire body locked up, shaking. The ones behind him had stopped too. They were just playing with him now.

 _“Ha!”_ One of the three in front of him mocked, baring its teeth in an uncanny imitation of a grin. The others echoed the sound.

He closed his eyes. He wished they'd just get it over with. “I'm so sorry, Hanzo.” He whispered through shaking breaths, “I tried, darlin’. I--” A sniper round echoed, followed by the _thud_ of a body behind him.

The group screeched angrily, and then a moment later, another one dropped. His legs gave out under him, staring ahead blankly and shaking violently. One lunged, taking advantage of the situation and was shot out of the air. It screeched and writhed on the ground. More footsteps and the twang of a bowstring. Another _thud_.

“Jesse?!” Hanzo’s voice called through the cotton in his ears. More bodies dropped around them, though there was no gunfire to proceed it. He tried to focus on Hanzo. Hanzo was here.

“Is he hurt?” Genji asked from what sounded like a mile away. No, he wanted to answer but all he could manage was a whimper.

“I don’t think so,” Hanzo’s voice had lowered to a murmur and the archer moved to his side to try and assess any damage. “He isn’t bleeding that I can see. It’s dark.” Hanzo instead continued to pat Jesse down, _“Daijoubu desu ka?”_

Was he? He gave a non-committal whimper and leaned toward Hanzo. He just wanted Hanzo to be there.

“I think he’s just shaken,” Ingrid responded. She’d come from the kitchen with a huge double-barrel pump action shotgun and taken a few shots herself. Nothing quite like a huge explosion to get everyone moving in the dead of night.

The shotgun blasts from the front had slowed, intermittent now rather than almost constant. Occasionally, the sound of another gun would join them but, for the most part, things were quieting down.

Jesse fought to suck in deep breaths between the short and ragged bursts, hoping Hanzo would just scoop him up and hold him until everything was better.

“I’m going to take him inside,” Hanzo finally said with a tone that brooked no argument out of anyone. He certainly wasn’t going to get one out of Ingrid. The archer slid Stormbow back into its spot beside his quiver and then pulled Jesse to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist. “Come on, let’s get you laid down.”

Jesse thought he nodded but he really couldn't tell. He stumbled the first several steps as he tried to will his body to work before finally seeming to get his legs under himself again and shuffling his way back with Hanzo.

All of his energy was gone by the time they made it back to… a room. Jesse really couldn't tell nor did he really have the will to care _which_ room. He stumbled again when Hanzo stopped to open the door, tripping on his own feet.

“Be still,” Hanzo murmured as he opened the door and then hauled Jesse through into his room. He didn’t want to take the cowboy back to the room that he shared with Genji because the first thing he had to do here was strip the man down. That many zombies? Hanzo had to make sure that Jesse hadn’t gotten bit.

Goddamn this man, wearing so many clothes. Normally he didn’t mind this much, but when they might be standing between Hanzo and an injury, he wasn’t a fan. The jacket had to go first. Hanzo moved Jesse over to the bed and got him sat down so that he could peel each of the layers off one by one. Jacket, shirt, undershirt; so far it looked promising. There was no blood on his upper body. Hanzo peeled off the bandage on Jesse’s bad arm as well, since it was overdue to be changed.

Jesse let himself be shuffled around, limply following Hanzo's guidance without protest. He watched Hanzo after he'd been sat down as if taking his eyes off the archer would cause him to simply vanish. He winced slightly as the jacket being peeled off brushed some of the sensitive skin on his left arm but made no other indication of pain or injury.

Next would be those pants. Hanzo ran a hand through his loose bangs--when he’d heard the explosion he had only had time to grab his bow and quiver and run so now his hair was in his face--before gently placing both hands on Jesse’s shoulders and pushing. “Lay back, I’m going to check your legs.” How, exactly, did that buckle even come open?

Jesse did as he was told, but seemed to be regaining some of his ability to function normally and reached down to unhook the buckle from where it fastened into the belt.

Under any other circumstances, this would likely be seductive but here it was just the reality of the situation. Hanzo knelt down to pulled his boots off and then the socks before tugging down on the thick denim to throw them in the floor. That was as far as he needed to go to see that Jesse wasn’t injured. Hanzo took both of his hands and gently turned Jesse one way and the other just to be sure, but there were no wounds. The archer sat up with a relieved sigh, _“Yokatta.”_

The cowboy had gotten enough of his head back on to reach out for Hanzo and hoping the archer would snuggle him. He needed it. He wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep at all, but at least he could feel safe.

Hanzo looked up when he saw the hand reaching for him and took it, kissing the knuckles gently. “Just a moment.” He’d rolled out of bed and just pulled on the nearest jacket but he still had to drop the quiver. Hanzo took a moment to put his quiver and bow down, pull off his shoes and even went so far as to match Jesse.

It hardly seemed fair to make the poor cowboy be the only one in their underwear. He turned off the room lights and then flicked on the side lamp so he could dress Jesse’s wound without needing to get back up. “It needs some time to breathe.” Hanzo murmured, petting his chestnut hair while he considered rewrapping the arm.

Jesse nodded, but the look on his face was far away and it was almost impossible to tell if he'd just heard or actually listened. He relaxed into the touch on his chest, and his ragged breathing slowly settled. His eyes fluttered closed and he relaxed further, almost as if falling asleep before his eyes snapped open wide with a start.

Well, that argued toward wrapping the arm. Jesse’s wound had started to grow that protective outer gunk that would keep it healing so he didn’t want the man to accidentally rub it off if a dream caused him to thrash in the night. He grabbed the first aid kit he’d brought closer and then dug around inside. This kit was one that Ana had delivered for Jesse and included a powdered antibiotic inside. He opened it up and powdered each of the wounds carefully before replacing the non stick bandages and then a coban wrap over the top.

After it was done, he flicked off the light and pulled Jesse close. “What can I do to make you feel more comfortable?” Hanzo asked, chewing on his lower lip. This was all a new experience and it was so, _so_ much faster than he would have liked… but none of that mattered in the face of taking care of Jesse.

The response was probably much less verbal than Hanzo would have liked, but got the point across all the same. Jesse buried his face against the archer, slowly melting into Hanzo's touch. He just needed Hanzo to be there. He knew he was practically defenseless in close quarters and a shiver passed through him as his mind helpfully provided a mental image of being corner. He tucked himself closer. Hanzo was there, he wasn't alone. If he wasn't alone, they couldn't pick him off.

The man pulled the blankets up and tucked them around their waists, laying Jesse’s arm over his waist so that it was more comfortable. He gently ran his fingers over his unwounded right bicep, yawning as he did. It was so late and Hanzo was so tired--and he needed to go find Jack in the morning. He needed rest and just hoped that Jesse would be able to get some sleep.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Not for a lack of trying, of course. Jesse was relaxed enough, curled up against Hanzo like he was, but after jolting awake to zombies breathing out mocking, 'Ha!'s at him as they descended on him and ate him alive and waking up Hanzo too, he decided to just stay awake.

He distracted himself with petting Hanzo's hair and peppering the archer's shoulder with kisses. With each kiss he tried to count off another reason that he loved Hanzo. He flinched every now and again as the booming crack of a shotgun ripped through the compound. He didn't want to think about the fact that there were still more out there. He didn't want to think about a lot of things right now. He pulled his face back to look at Hanzo's face. He looked so peaceful.

His eyes stung as another shotgun round reminded him that he had almost died today. He'd almost destroyed that peaceful, pleasant expression tonight. He brushed Hanzo's bangs out of his face and kissed the archer's nose with a bittersweet smile. _'Love you, darlin.’_

He frowned as Hanzo shifted slightly and stilled. He didn't want to wake his baby up. Hanzo needed to find Jack tomorrow. He needed his rest. He stared at the ceiling, wishing he could sleep. It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves! If you are, make sure to leave a comment! We love hearing from you :D


	12. Chapter 12

The plan for the morning was to go out to where they’d signalled Jack yesterday afternoon and see if he’d picked up the pack or not. Hanzo hoped that all those goons that had tried to shake them out of the trees had come to their base and were subsequently slaughtered by Gabe and--surprisingly enough--Fareeha last night. If they were here, they weren’t chasing Jack.

There couldn’t possibly be that many smart zombies out there, could there?

Hanzo really didn’t want an answer to that question, if he was being completely honest with himself. “Are you ready to head out?” He asked, feeling like he’d asked that so many times in the last day that he would never need to ask it again. They were armed better this time with bright flares found in the back of Jack’s warehouse and a couple of flash-bangs that Ana kept tucked away under her bed. They had one job, find Jack and bring him home. Anything expended toward that goal was worth it.

Genji sighed, checked his pack and then nodded. Once again, he was scared of what they might find and he just hoped that Jack was okay. He also worried about Jesse who had looked absolutely exhausted when Genji had seen him at breakfast. He doubted Jesse would, but he hoped the cowboy would get some sleep while they were gone.

The older nodded curtly and then pulled his own pack on before heading for the door. This time they had a plan. Genji would lead, they’d move quickly and backtrack their way to the cache. No talking, no yelling, and  _ absolutely _ no mocking the zombies. Get in, get out, get Jack.

Genji wasn't really in the mood to taunt the zombies today, or rather, he was too tired to bother. Unlike his brother, who had a broad ass American to use as his personal teddy bear, Genji had to try to sleep through the nights alone and he'd spent a good portion of last night waking up to gunshots with his hand going for his sword. The sooner they found Jack, the sooner he could get home and try to sleep.

In the daylight, they both decided it best to leave in the early morning, it was easy to find their way back to the tree where they’d left the cache. There was no spilled bag or corpse at the bottom of the tree, so that was a plus. The cache was gone and for terrifying moment, Hanzo was afraid that the zombies had been smart enough to take the supplies. Then he spotted something on the branch.

“Genji, look at that.” Hanzo pointed up, not quite able to reach it. If Jack had stood on the same branch he was standing on and stretched as high as he possibly could, he’d be able to just barely tie that scrap of cotton to the branch. He looked around, hoping there was more and not just the single clue. White was such a bright color, that had to be there for a reason. “Do you see any more?”

The younger brother held up a finger and then hopped to another tree, looking about before hopping to the next and making a full circle around before returning. “There's one in the direction of the warehouse and one moving away… but not towards base?”

“He had to have come from the warehouse.” Hanzo frowned, looking at the one on the tree that he was standing in before shimmying around to glance at the one in the direction of the warehouse before doing the same to the other white bow Genji pointed out. That one he almost needed to climb into the next tree to see.

_ Oh! _

“Look, Genji! He tied them on the side of the tree in the direction he was leaving to. See? The one on the warehouse side is on  _ this _ side of the tree. This bow is facing the next bow and that one--” Hanzo cut himself off as he tried to jump to the next tree. It took a bit of wind up but he did it. “This one is probably facing the next bow. Genji, this is it. He left us a trail!”

Genji pumped his fist in the air, but after having troubled sleep, he wasn't really feeling up to his usual enthusiasm. At least Jack had made it easy on them. 

Hanzo actually took the lead, looking for the bows and jumping to the next one in line. Jack’s movement was easier for Hanzo to follow because Jack was similarly not particularly acrobatic. He was able to follow where the tall man broke branches on his way through the tree to tie the bow and jump along.

Catching up to Jack happened faster than Hanzo could have ever dreamed it would. The man was sitting facing a tree trunk and holding onto it with his legs as he rested on a large branch and in his arms was an incredibly thin and lethargic man. Hanzo didn’t even begin to start trying to guess age. He was short, that much was obvious next to the hulking size of Jack, and his head laid against the trunk rolled slightly to the side.

As Hanzo got closer, he heard what Jack was saying as he tapped the man’s cheek. “Open up, little bird.” The old man coaxed, getting one of the water-soaked crackers into his cracked lips and then waiting to see if he’d swallow it. He did, but it took a second. The kid was basically skin and bones.

“Jack!” Hanzo exclaimed, perching beside him on a nearby branch. His night had been spent sleeping soundly so unlike Genji, Hanzo was in a fantastic mood. “I have been very worried about you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jack grumbled, rubbing the ashen cheek of the tanned man before getting another soaked cracker past his lips. “Well if you’re so worried, you can help me get home. Which one of you wants to carry Max?”

“Max?” Hanzo parroted back, not quite connecting the name to the barely coherent second person.

“Yes, Max. That’s his name, that’s what he said.” Jack explained, gesturing to his companion. He had an old straw in one hand and was starting to use a water bottle to drop water past the chapped lips. It was so practiced that it had to be something he’d done a lot over the last couple of days.

“I can carry him, I guess…” Hanzo shrugged, starting to pull rope from his pack and the tarp he’d brought in case Jack was dead. Maybe he could make a sling or something? The guy was so small...

Genji had caught up while Hanzo was busy talking and gave a derisive snort. “Says the one that claimed he'd fall to his death without me yesterday. I'll carry him. I'm faster, lighter and unlike you, I can actually navigate the trees.”

Hanzo huffed, rolling his eyes and then began to tie the rope so that it could be fashioned into something that would hold this ‘Max’ onto Genji’s back. “Well then, don’t let me stop you, oh high and mighty one.”

Genji watched for a moment and then smiled and hugged the old soldier, “Glad we found you. Everyone has been worried.”

“Even Genji.  _ Especially _ Genji.” Hanzo drawled, starting to lace the rope through the four metal-lined holes in the tarp at the edges. This would cup the kid so that he couldn’t fall while Genji carried him.

“Shut up,” Genji whined. “You'll ruin my reputation.”

Jack stood there awkwardly in the hug before raising one hand to pat Genji on the back. He even went so far as to smile, which was when Hanzo realized Jack was sporting two new slashes across his face because that smile caused them to break open and ooze. “I don’t care about your rep, kid. I’m glad you’re alive too.”

Genji grinned, then looked up and, upon seeing the new slashes on the soldier's face, quickly frowned. “Hanzo, did we bring anything to take care of that?”

“I’m sure I have a kit in there, I brought everything.” He took off his pack and leaned over to give it to Genji while he continued trying to figure out how this thing was going to work out. “I might need to move him onto this while I work.” He’d like to tie ‘Max’ into the contraption to keep him from just falling out the first time Genji hit a branch too hard.

“Don't know how you'd manage that in a tree,” Genji remarked offhandedly, opening up Hanzo's pack to find the first aid kit. It also looked like Jack had bandaged up his arm, but the wrap was kind of dirty and a dark brown in places. He balanced next to Jack, now sheepish. Would Jack even  _ let _ him take care of him? He knew he was stubborn.

The old soldier offered his arm readily to Genji as he side-eyed the older brother. Hanzo was currently lifting and moving his charge and Jack clearly didn’t like it but he was letting it happen. He  _ only _ let it happen because the two branches were so close together that Hanzo’s upper body strength was more than enough. “Looks like your brother’s learned a thing or two about shibari.”

Hanzo turned bright red and spluttered, his hands stopping halfway between tying a harness into the whole thing. Good thing the poor kid was essentially passed out.

Genji snickered, “Wouldn't surprise me.” He grinned like an idiot as he stared at his brother and, so that Jack could be spared the mental image, switched to Japanese.  _ “Does Jesse like being tied up, Hanzo? Or did you learn so you could teach him?” _

The older sibling spluttered even more,  _ “I  _ learned _ so I could haul your ass out in the event that you did something stupid and couldn’t walk. This is the only thing I know how to do.” _

Genji cackled and then turned back to start unwrapping the bandages on Jack's arm. He made a face at the wound, and then furrowed his brow. At least it wasn't a bite, but it still looked pretty bad.

“When the building exploded, I was the one facing it.” Jack explained, gesturing to his face with the arm Genji wasn’t working on. “So I took shrapnel to the face and arm… but Brigitte and Max didn’t, so I guess that’s all that matters.”   


Hanzo finished the human backpack and turned to instead watch them both. “How did you get out?”

“Max had been digging a way out while they had him pinned in there,” Jack explained. “It was almost done. I just had to finish the last few feet.”

“Well, on the plus side, you have a new story to tell Gabriel!” Genji chirped, “And I think I heard him say he liked scars once. And he missed you  _ a lot _ .” Genji wiggled his eyebrows as he cleaned the wound on Jack's arm carefully.

“I missed him a lot too,” Jack chuckled, clearly in a far better mood than normal. That could be attributed to being rescued, however.

“Cuuute.” Genji cooed, scrubbing gently at some of the dried blood and dirt on Jack's arm, glancing up every now and then to make sure Jack wasn't in pain.

The soldier could take quite a beating before he was to the point of visually showing his pain. For the most part he just looked tired. “Genji, kid, I know you wanna patch me up and I appreciate that but I’m  _ exhausted. _ I’d like to get moving before I fall asleep and fall to my death.”

Genji gave a slight nod and a quiet apology before picking up the pace and wrapping up Jack's arm. He'd like to clean up Jack's face but it didn't see to be in  _ as _ bad of condition as his arm and getting back was slightly more important. Besides, it would give Gabriel a reason to take care of his husband.

Jack cracked another wry grin and pushed himself to his feet before reaching out and ruffling Genji’s hair. “I’ll let you play doctor all you want at base.”

It was almost like the guy that had threatened them their first day on base wasn’t even there--then again, Jack had just gotten through a rather intense bout of survival over the last few days. Hanzo looked at Genji and then gestured to the sleeping fourth member of their little group. “Once you pick him up, I’m gonna tie the front so you don’t have to worry about dropping him.

“Okay,” Genji nodded, glancing again at Jack and the scratches on his face before moving to pick Max up and put him on his back. Genji frowned at how light he was. He was so thin…

Hanzo moved to adjust the rigging on it, sliding the ropes around and getting the man well secured to Genji while Jack actually started moving to the first tree. He traveled so slowly that he needed the head start. Hanzo finished it off with a knot at Genji's waist. The first, and so far the  _ only _ , sign of life he saw out of Max was that he pulled his arms into the sling and slouched down so his head was protected by the tarp that spanned from Genji's waist to shoulders in an 'L’. “You should be secure.”

Genji tested his weight and balance, climbing up higher to see how the branches would take his weight in case he had to climb higher in a hurry. He climbed back down, careful not to jostle Max too much and then patted his brother's shoulder. “I may have to take it slower, but I will be right behind you.”

“If you’re sure,” Hanzo didn’t seem to like the idea of letting Genji go slower but he had to trust his brother’s judgement here. So he moved after Jack. It wasn’t as if Jack didn’t know where the camp was, he’d changed his course and headed straight for the base, it almost seemed like he had been staying out here for some other reason entirely.

“Hey, Jack?” Hanzo called, catching up to the old soldier as he precariously hopped to the next tree.

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you head for the base?” Hanzo asked, looking over his shoulder to make sure he could still see Genji behind him. He didn’t dare lose sight of him while he was essentially handicapped by the extra weight.

“Didn’t want to lead zombies back.” Jack grumbled, “These fuckers can climb now.”

Hanzo almost laughed at him. If it weren’t for the fiasco last night, he would have. “Last night, Jesse almost died to them. They climbed in and ambushed him on night watch and his arm is injured. We all heard him and ran out.”

“Is he ok?” Jack’s quick and very alarmed response actually confused Hanzo. Most people, himself included, thought Jack hated Jesse. “He didn’t get bit did he? Is he hurt?”

“No, He seems fine.” Hanzo responded, waiting patiently for Jack to move to the next tree. “Shaken up.”

“Good.” Jack sighed, sounding relieved by that.

“I thought you hated him,” Hanzo asked, following Jack again. At this rate, Genji was going to catch up.

Jack raised an eyebrow and snorted through his nose. “If I hated him, he wouldn’t be here. He’s a shithead, but he’s a good kid. Great work ethic.”

Well that just turned everything he thought he knew on its head. He stood there dumbly, gaping like a fish.

“I don’t hate you either, you know. I’m not gonna throw you out. You and your brother are stuck with me so you might as well get comfy. I’mma need you to wipe my ass when I’m old.” Jack looked over his shoulder with a grin.

“As long as it doesn't end in Vegas.” Genji teased as he caught up.

“Oh so he told you that story then, did he?” Jack asked, walking down a branch with all the grace of an overweight pigeon. “How bad did I sound?”

“You’re a legend.” Hanzo affirmed easily.

“So I sounded like a piece of shit, good to know.” Jack rolled his eyes, doing an awful jump to the next tree and sat there puffing as he shook the nerves off. “No matter how many times I do this, it doesn’t seem to get easier.”

“No no,” Genji held up a hand. “Hanzo's a weirdo. He means that as a compliment.” He held the branch above him with one arm, waiting for a clear spot to jump to. Once Jack had moved from that branch, it would probably hold his weight and Max with ease.

“That makes it even worse, somehow.” Jack grumbled to himself as he kept moving. “Take it from me, I’m not a legend. That shit was stupid. Don’t ever do to somebody what I did to Gabe. I can’t believe he even puts up with me now, let alone then.”

“That’s how you know that he is serious about his affections,” Hanzo provided easily, filling in the gap behind Jack and moving so Genji and Max could go behind them. “Tenacity.”

_ “Stupidity,” _ Jack quipped back. “Gabe should have found someone who would treat him right but he didn’t and now he has me.”

“You seem to treat him well, he doesn’t have complaints.”

“I try, kiddo. I try.” Jack sounded a little defeated before squaring off his shoulders and looking back. “The important moral of the story here is, don’t be Jack. I’m an idiot.”

“That’s… not something I ever expected to come out of your mouth.” Hanzo blinked, looking at his brother.

Genji shrugged softly and then hopped to the next branch, perching on it with a smile. “I don't think you're an idiot. Stubborn, maybe but… the way Gabriel explained it, he…” Genji chewed his lip, “I mean, some guy doesn't talk you ever and then walks up drunk to hit on you? I guess I get it.” Nevermind that he had been Gabriel in several situations and it had worked… sometimes.

“I mean,” Jack didn’t often get to tell his side of the story. Most of the time, people only ever heard Gabe’s. “We were fresh out of SEP, the super soldier program, and we hadn’t been on this squad very long. I’m not… social. I just got looped in because I was the only guy in the squad that didn’t drink.”

“You don’t drink?” Hanzo asked, confused. He thought for sure he’d seen Jack take some of the moonshine they had on base.

“I do  _ now, _ the omnic crisis taught me the value of being completely shit-faced,” Jack quirked a smile at Hanzo’s shocked laughter, “I was also too stubborn to let Gabe beat me at shots. Here’s a kernel of wisdom, never  _ ever _ take an offer from a Latino when the drink of choice is tequila shots.”

Genji cackled. “I mean, in my experience, it's inadvisable to take an offer from anyone when alcohol is involved.” From behind, there was a weak and quiet huff of laughter. It didn't seem like the other two had heard it, but it relieved Genji to know that Max was still alive.

“You’re not wrong,” Jack snorted, shaking his head and running a hand through his receding silver hair. “But what I was saying was, I’ve only seen this guy once or twice and that was flirting with everything that walked in the Rec room while I was trying not to puke my guts out from the shit SEP put in me… and we finally get out and the first thing he does is get drunk and try to talk me up.”

Hanzo grimaced sympathetically.

“Yeah.  _ Yeah. _ I didn’t want anything to do with that. Sure, he was cute, but I just-- I’m not exactly one night stand material, you know? I need someone I can talk to.” Jack gave a half hearted shrug and threw himself to the next tree. “And it was hard to shake that. He’d ask me out, I’d say no. I mean, I had a reputation on base as being a prude and I wasn’t about to become some notch on somebody’s bed post.”

As the former heir to a large Yakuza clan, Hanzo could intimately relate to that statement. While Genji was the one collecting notches, he was the one avoiding becoming one. “Ah,  _ sou da ne.” _

“The irony of you calling him a prude is--” Genji grinned.

“Hey, there’s a story behind that.” Jack commented, looking at the gap between himself and the next tree. “One, I figured he was ignoring the proposal out of spite for the years I’d told him no. It was  _ his _ idea!” He squared up and ran, throwing himself at the next tree. The landing wasn’t graceful, but he didn’t fall to his death so that was a win. The waiting pack of zombies below would just  _ love _ that. “The second reason I said that was because I knew for a  _ fact _ that he wasn’t. And that he’d love to prove me wrong if I poked his ego the right way.”

Hanzo actually laughed louder than his brother for once when Jack flashed them both a mischievous grin. “Hey, you laugh,” Jack scoffed, “But it fucking worked.”

Genji gave a scandalized gasp, “ _ Jack! _ Language!”

“Fuck off, kid.” Jack grumbled, trying to ignore the irony because that was usually  _ his _ line.

A bark of laughter was Genji's only response and then he hopped to the next tree to keep up.

“So the moral of the story is, don’t be me.” Jack chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ll end up old and grouchy and miss the best years of your life with the man you love.  _ And _ all your kids will think you hate them. That one sucks.”

Genji gave a soft whimper, “We don't hate you… I mean, you're frustratingly stubborn sometimes but we don't hate you.”

“Jesse hates you,” Hanzo commented, more as a matter-of-fact than as a barb.

“I know, I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that though.” Jack shrugged. “I tried being nice to him when he first got here and I just never could click with that kid. It’s a shame, he’s talented at, well, everything.”

Conversation died after that point. There was not much else that could be said. Jack didn’t seem to want to continue talking, the somber mood had caught him and he had always been quiet, so the old man just resorted to nods and grunts. After a few times of trying and being greeted with very little, Hanzo sort of gave up on it. He liked to think of it as a bank of words, Jack just had a very small allowance for the day and they’d used it up. Hanzo had the same problem sometimes.

There was never as sweet a moment as when they got to the tree line and Ana was there to greet them, shooting down the swarm of zombies at their feet. “You missed dinner.” She snarked at Jack, but couldn’t help smiling at him.

“I almost  _ was _ dinner,” Jack snarked back, slowly shimmying down the tree to get to the ground while Hanzo just jumped.

Genji was a bit more gentle in his descent. He didn't want to accidentally hurt Max. He finally dropped the last few feet to the ground and beamed. “But hey! You weren't and now you can make up for missing dinner by having it tonight.”

Ana laughed at Genji’s comment, nodding and waving a hand at the two. “Yes he can, come in. Gabriel is worried sick.”

Jack even looked a bit ashamed of himself for worrying his husband, nodding some as she pushed him forward by the small of his back. “Yes Ma’am.”

Genji followed them inside, hoping that Max was still okay. There wasn't very many places to keep him where he could be monitored and extra beds were in short supply.

Ana guided Jack to the back where Gabe was currently disposing of bodies and he barely bat an eyelash at it all. Jack only had eyes for his husband. The moment he found Gabe, he took off in a run. “Gabe!” He called, catching him by the waist and squeezing his husband tightly.

“Jackie!” Gabe turned, and almost threw his arms around his husband before looking down and staring at the gunk on his hands from moving the bodies. So, instead he settled for a one-armed squeeze and buryin. his face in the crook of Jack's neck. “Welcome home,  _ mi luz.  _ I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, baby.” Jack cooed back, more than able to keep away from the gunk as he kissed down his cheek over and over as he guided Gabe to the spigot where he could wash down. He held Gabe’s jaw and came in to lay one on him, smiling sweetly. “I don't even have words for how good it is to see you again.”

Gabe gave a soft whine and then turned his head away. “Jackie… wait.” He didn't want to tell Jack no. He wanted to kiss Jack and never let go of him, but he couldn't risk getting Jack sick. Even if all the stuff SEP had pumped them full could counteract it and he'd never get more than a cough, he just couldn't risk Jack getting sick. “I… Jackie, I started coughing. It was just one the first time, so I didn't think about it but it's continued and I don't want to…” He hung his head and looked up through his lashes at Jack's jaw, “I can't risk you…”

Jack felt like he had died. His ears had filled with cotton and fear washed cold down his neck as he gripped Gabe tight. Gabe was sick. They never got sick. It could only be one thing and--with this huge pile of zombies--it had to be that. No.  _ No. _ “How long?” He asked, barely able to breathe as he held Gabe like he was already dying in his arms.

“It had to be that one that got in that got in one of the coops.” Gabe murmured. “It opened the doors. I didn't realize it at the time but it had to have. It was in my face before I could do anything. I had to shoot it point blank. The blood splashed on me…” Gabe squeezed Jack tight, “I washed it off quick and hoped that it would be fine.”

“Oh my god,” Jack whispered and rubbed his face before squeezing Gabe close again. “That’s been--” Weeks. “How are you not already  _ feral?” _

“We're SEP, Jackie.” Gabe reminded him gently. “It's just a cough that showed up a few days ago… may not even get worse but I don't want to risk your health. I'd never forgive myself.”

“So does that mean I can’t kiss you?” Jack asked, although he knew the answer already. He could survive not being able to kiss Gabe if it meant getting to keep his husband.

“Not until this blows over and I know that I can't hurt you.” He nuzzled Jack's shoulder, “Well, at least not on the mouth. I think neck and shoulders would be okay?” He shrugged, “But I'd also understand if you'd rather just play it safe, Jackie. I don't want you sick.”

“Are you kidding me, Gabe?” Jack asked, pulling back to look him in the eye. “I spent too many years playing it safe. Rabid wolves couldn’t keep me from loving on you.”

Gabe chuckled, pressing a kiss to the area just under Jack's ear. “Besides Jackie, there are plenty of fun places to kiss that won't be potentially dangerous.”

Jack just grinned, rolling his eyes. “You say that like those places aren’t also mucus membranes, Gabe.”

“Jackie, my intentions were strictly  _ above  _ the belt.”

“Mmhmm,” Jack didn’t believe it for a second. He opened his mouth to whisper more sweet-nothings when he heard a sharp whistle from inside the building. That was Ana. She did that when she needed someone  _ right now. _ “Ugh, what is it now?” That whistle was almost exclusively for them because it was only Gabe, Jack or Jesse that were ever so far away that they needed a whistle to hail them.

Gabe sighed, peppered a few kisses along Jack's neck and then pulled away. “Guess we should go find out. You  _ know  _ what happens if she has to whistle again.”

_ “Tch,” _ Jack only had the sound of disgust to respond with as he turned away. “You may want to wash your hands before you come in.” He would ask why Gabe hadn’t put on gloves but if he was already sick, there wasn’t much else it could do to him.

“Probably.” Gabe agreed with a slight chuckle. “I'd rather not get anyone else sick either.”

“The fact that one of the supersoldiers is the one that got sick is probably a best case scenario,” Jack commented as he headed for the door. He was dragging his feet because he wanted to wait for Gabe to walk with him.

Gabe washed the gunk off quickly, nodding. “With any luck,” he flicked the water off his hands, “It'll just fuck directly off.” He jogged to catch up with Jack, tossing an arm over his husband's shoulders and wiggling his fingers. He was hoping for a hand to hold.

The old soldier gave him that hand, easily lacing their fingers and walked in with him. “I hope it does, that’d make this all much--”

“Hold him down!” Ana’s voice called from inside and it stopped Jack directly in his tracks.

“Let me go! I’mma shank all o’ youse!” Max’s voice wasn’t strong but it was panicked and Jack nearly ran out from under Gabe’s arm to get to the barracks where he’d be sleeping.

Gabe did a double take and then raced after Jack. That must be the kid Jack rescued.

“Shh, calm down-- We’re trying to help you!” Ana was trying to soothe him as they walked in, though it did nothing for the thrashing kid on the bed. Whenever someone got close to him, walking in front of the light, he swung out.

“Ana, he can’t hear you.” Jack called, making his voice strong enough that Max would be able to pick out the tones. It didn’t really seem to help. “He’s mostly deaf from what I can tell. He has his hearing aids, I need to get the batteries out of the stock room, but--”

“I already got them!” Genji exclaimed as he dashed back down the hall. “I found the case and ran to get batteries.”

“Good,” Jack reached out and pulled the hearing aids out of the case, careful not to bend them because they were not something anyone could replace and the small wires that ran from the eardrum to the portion over the ear seemed entirely to fragile for his tastes. “Max!”

The first call went unanswered. “Max! It’s me, Jack! I have your hearing aids! We got batteries for them!”

Max thrust his hands out, both of them shaking with exertion and probably a healthy dose of fear. Jack placed the aids in his palms and watched the kid carefully put them in and then turn them on. The little blue lights on the back lit up and Jack hoped that meant they were working. “Can you hear me kid?”

He nodded and Jack let out a sigh of relief. “They’se was strippin’ me.” That seemed like a good reason to be alarmed, Jack gave him that much at least.

“They wanted to put you in bed. They didn’t think you’d wake up. Are you hungry? It’s time to eat, little bird.” Jack coaxed, looking around. Ana didn’t have much in the room, since they hadn’t had much time to set it up and the mattress was old. “Isn’t there anywhere better we can put him? This is going to make him sicker.”

Gabe gave him that smile that said he had something to say but was choosing to wait until they were in private to do so. Honestly, he found the fact that Jack called the new kid 'little bird’ absolutely  _ adorable _ . It was a horrible pity that he couldn't kiss the daylights out of Jack.

“He can go in my room,” Hanzo commented. He’d been quietly watching the entire debacle from the corner. “I’ll sleep with Jesse, he can use my bed.”

Genji opened his mouth and then shrugged, “I could definitely help. I sleep light. If he needed anything, I could go get it very easily.”

“It’s better than this,” Hanzo mentioned and gave Genji a skeptical expression. He didn’t want to think his brother was just pulling some shenanigans but… well, this was Genji. It was probably a shenanigan.

Ingrid walked in with a bowl of broth and a spoon. “I brought what you asked for, Ana.”

“Good, he needs the food. Look how thin he is.” Ana frowned, crossing her arms.

“I can hear youse,” Max grumbled. “That’s the catch wit’ givin’ your cripple an aid, now I can hear ya talkin’ shit.”

Genji pursed his lips together to stifle a giggle but still ending up snorting very loudly. He liked Max already.

“Let's have you get something ate before we move you,” Jack said as he took the bowl from Ingrid and sat on the side of the bed. He took up a bit of the broth and blew on it to cool it down before gently brushing the knuckles of his other hand against Max’s cheek. Like the tiny bird that Jack had nicknamed him after, Max opened up and leaned forward for the bite.

Ana felt like she was intruding on something very intimate, but wasn’t sure why.

Gabe settled down nearby, but didn't get too close for fear of making the already weak kid sick as a dog. He loved seeing Jack try be a good parent, even if he didn't always know how. In better circumstances they had talked a lot about adopting when they retired and raising kids who needed them. Funny how that hadn't really changed.

The adrenaline that Max had come out of his slumber with, enough to yell at Ana and thrash around, was quickly gone and he was sagging against the pillow heavily quickly enough. Hanzo had left the room to change the bedding on his own bed--the plan was just to take it over to Jesse’s room--and push the bed closer to Genji’s. He knew his brother, after being stuck on the same bed with him for a month and a half, and Genji slept shallowly only when someone was  _ right there. _ So Hanzo figured that would help.

After most of the bowl, Jack sat it down and pet Max’s shaggy hair. “Don’t move him just yet, I want to make sure he doesn’t puke. Sometimes too much makes him sick.” He murmured, chewing on his lower lip as he waited.

“We could be gentle,” Ana suggested but Jack shook his head.

“It’s just better to wait. He lived on water and veggies for three weeks, let him sit and digest it.”

Genji frowned at the words but he knew as well as anyone else in the room that the water and veggies had kept Max alive, but he needed  _ real  _ food.

“I’ve been feeding him crackers, some peanut butter when he could handle it, but mostly just crackers and water. It’s helping. Each time he could eat a little more.” Jack moved to pull the bowl away but then Max reached out for his hand and caught it. He pulled up another spoonful of broth. It looked like Ingrid had strained it off the top of some soup, since there were small bits of chicken still floating here and there, so he got those in the next bite. “He’s not injured, not that I can tell… just very very thin.”

Jack looked up, glancing over at Genji before offering him the bowl to finish feeding Max. “I need a bath  _ really _ bad, you wanna feed him, kid?”

“Sure.” Genji nodded and took the bowl from Jack with a smile. He sat down near Max with a slight bob of his head. “My name is Genji.”

Max reached up and slowly found Genji’s face with one hand, stroking over the cheekbone and his eyebrows as he watched him with foggy blue eyes. “‘m Max.”

Genji's brows furrowed as he suddenly realized that Max was blind, or at least very close to it. It made Max's survival all the more impressive. “I am very pleased to meet you.” Genji replied with another bob of his head, “Would you like more to eat?”

“‘Unno,” Max didn’t shrug and his eyes slid shut again, the hand sagging from Genji’s cheek to instead lay on Max’s chest. The poor kid had gone through a lot and he wasn’t even through the worst of it yet. “Prob’ly should.”

Genji gently scooped out another spoonful of broth, trying to get the little pieces from the soup in as well. He blew on the spoon to cool it and then tapped Max's cheek like he'd seen Jack do.

It seemed that even if he had no energy, Max would open his mouth when coaxed. So he did, opening up and taking the spoonful. He laid there like that for a moment before smiling, “Can I make… a request?”

“Of course,” Genji nodded.

“Do your cooks know how…” Max inhaled sharply, sounding like a wheeze before laying still again, “...to make minestrone?”

“I… don't know.” He turned to look back at Ingrid questioningly. “Can you?”

Ingrid shrugged, “I’m not sure what that is.” She said softly, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Take ‘n onion,” Max coughed and wheezed inward, “Cut it up ‘n cook it in oil till it’s see-through. Add garlic ‘n let it cook then… celery and carrot till it gets all soft.” He struggled to shift his weight so it was on the other hip before coughing more. The smoke had really done a number on his lungs. “Add green beans.”

The chef was writing it down in the little notebook she kept on her hip, dutifully marking anything he pointed out about cook time as well.

“Put in tomatoes ‘n chicken broth ‘n cover it up till it boils. Then let it cook for a bit before throwing in kidney beans ‘n pasta.” Max opened his eyes with a small grin, a shadow of a brighter personality. “‘n that’s minestrone.”

“Sounds yummy.” Genji grinned.

“Oh it is, hot stuff,” Max let out a hollow chuckle that ended up in a harsh cough. “If ya let me, I’ll make youse some lasagna too.”

Genji laughed, “I've never had lasagna! I've heard a lot about it though.”

“What?” Max asked, trying his best to sound scandalized even though for the most part he just sounded exhausted. “Ya poor thing. We can fix youse.”

“I look forward to it.” He hoped he'd like lasagna. It's sounded delicious… even if it  _ was _ a lot of dairy. Granted, they had some goats and their milk didn't seem to make his stomach angry like cow's milk so maybe he'd get to enjoy it without regretting life later.

Hanzo had returned from the room he shared with Genji. He had stolen some of the pajamas that Genji still had clean in the drawer and brought them along with a blanket. Their barracks were across the open grass from where Max was currently laying in the main building so if they were going to put him in PJ’s, he’d need a blanket. He walked in just in time to listen to his brother acting like a total sap.

This kid hadn’t even been here twenty minutes. “I’ve brought clothing,” Hanzo announced, glaring some at Genji as he walked over. “Ana wanted us to clean you before you go to the other room. You’re… pretty grimy.”

“No shit, sherlock.” Max grumbled, coughing again.

Genji snorted, “Don't mind Hanzo. He's… a weirdo. I've been trying to get him to be more charming but…” he waved a hand in Hanzo's direction, “He's still a total work-in-progress.” And yet somehow, Hanzo had ended up with a boyfriend first. How did  _ that _ even work?

“Older siblings are like that,” Max mused, lips turning up on the sides. He shifted again in the bed with a disgruntled whine. “You said somethin’ about a nicer bed?”

“You told him about me, then?” Hanzo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nope, haven't said a word about you,” Genji chirped, “I think he heard us bickering on the way back home.”

“Mm… no,” Max stretched out and shook his head, “You have the same accent ‘n it takes ‘n older sibling to be  _ that _ condescending.”

Hanzo’s glare intensified.

Genji only loved Max more.

“Well, the room is ready.” Hanzo snapped, looking at his brother and then turning on his heel to walk out. This ungrateful asshole was not going to ruin his day.

Genji sighed, “Annnd that's Hanzo. Don't worry, he'll grow on you.”

“Like mold, I assume.” Max grumbled and slowly reached out. “There’s a spring attackin’ me. Youse gonna move me or not?”

Max got a giggle and then Genji grabbed the pajamas. “Yes, but first, warm clothes!”

“Alright, Alright,” Max leaned forward and moved to pull at the shirt he was wearing, though he would need help. Just being warm and laying down on an actual flat surface instead of a branch was helpful but he was still very weak. “If ya sneak a peek, at least tell me what yer lookin’ at. I wanna be able to flex.”

Genji gasped, “But Max, that wouldn't be very gentlemanly.”

“Hey, there ain’t nobody around t’ stop youse if ya wanna look, least of all me.” Max even went so far as to wink, though his eyes were ever so slightly off to one side of Genji’s face rather than the correct spot.

Genji laughed at that, and then helped Max with the shirt.

When Ana returned from the kitchen, she came bearing a large pot full of warm water, a bar of soap and a rag. “Oh, you started already.” The woman commented, sitting on the side of the bed opposite of Genji and started to wash the boy from his abdomen out to the fingers. “You look like you haven’t had a proper bath in weeks.

“All due respect, I haven’t had a ‘proper’ bath ‘n years.”

“That would explain some of this grime.” She commented as she scrubbed the pads of his fingers and under the nails with her rag.

“Well, we have baths and showers… though I wouldn't recommend the showers this time of year. The water is freezing.” Genji shivered at the thought. “But the baths are always hot!”

“Just like the men,” Max’s head rolled to the side with a cheesy grin.

“He’s delusional,” Ana chuckled as she kept scrubbing his skin and then moved to take off his shoes. The poor kid barely had what could be called shoes. They’d have to be thrown away. She took them off and began scrubbing his feet next.

Ana just rolled her eyes and smiled, shaking her head. The bed bath seemed to calm him down, at least. Between the warm water and the soothing petting of his hair that Genji was doing, Max fell into an easy sleep there in the bed. She hated to move him, but this was an old store room that was full of dust and the bed was terrible. “Alright,” Ana announced once she’d finished. Spic and span. “You can wrap him up and take him away.”

Genji scooped Max up in a princess hold, once again marveling and sad at how light he was. They would just fix that right up. Upon reaching his room, he noticed that the beds had been shoved together and smiled at his brother's good memory. He tucked Max into one bed, making sure that he'd be safe and comfortable before sitting on the edge of the other bed. He didn't know what to do now though. He couldn't just leave Max here alone but there also wasn't much for him to do that was helpful. He guessed he'd just figure that out later, for now, he had a sleeping Max to watch over and that's what he intended to do.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Mentions of past homophobic hate acts

“So, Hanzo said that something happened while I was stuck out there--” Jack commented as he walked beside his husband and looked around the base. “Where did all those bodies come from, and where is Jesse? It’s not like him not to be out here.”

“He's probably asleep. At least I hope he is.” Gabe stared at the bodies that littered the ground. “After Hanzo and Genji got back and told us they could climb, we started fortifying the fences. He gestured to the spikes and barbed wire, “But we ran out of stuff to finish it and forgot to change the lock on the front gate. Those smart bastards just opened the gate and let in a huge pack.”

“Shit.” Jack breathed out and ran a hand through his hair while he looked over the pile of corpses. “I found out all about the smart ones while I was out there,” He said, grabbing a shovel to help Gabe bury them. “Who taught them to say 'Ha!’? Because that shit is terrifying. It was a huge mass of mockingbirds.”

Gabe shrugged, “Not me. The only thing they would have learned from me it the sound of a shotgun.” He grinned cheesily.

Jack grinned and laughed despite himself. It was a shame he couldn't kiss that stupid mouth. “I approve.”

“So, I was getting up for patrol when Jesse sets off one of his bombs out by the back gate. Woke  _ everyone _ up. And of course, it's not like Jesse to set those things off inside the compound without reason…” Gabe kicked one of the bodies into the grave, “So I was already up and moving. Then he sets off that spear of his… and another bomb.”

“Oh no.” Jack wasn't particularly well known for his exuberant use of vocabulary.

“You'll have to ask him what exactly happened because I was stuck up front, but Ana says they ran him straight into an ambush and the kid locked up. If he hadn't set those bombs off and Ana hadn't been there…”

Jack turned on his heel with a torn expression, looking back toward the compound. “Is he alright? How long has he been asleep?” That was Jack-speak for 'should I go talk to him or is he still out?’ 

Gabe shrugged, “Haven't seen him all day, but Hanzo didn't seem to be too alarmed, so I think he's okay?”

The younger of the two grunted some and began throwing dirt into the hole. “Maybe we can go fishing tomorrow. Weather is good for it.”

“I'm sure he'd like it. He's been kinda mopey with his arm out of commission, and yet he's still trying to get out and work. I swear that kid--”

“What's wrong with his arm?” Jack snapped, stopping in the middle of picking up another pile of dirt to throw in. “You said he wasn't hurt. Is he sick?”

“He's _fine_ , Jack. He was holding me back when the warehouse blew up. Some of the burning pieces hit his arm.” He probably shouldn't have brought up Jesse's arm, but Jack would have seen it anyway.

The response was a frown and Jack finished the arc to toss the dirt into the hole. “Kid…” he sighed, shaking his head. “And you-- what were you planning on doing? You would've died.”

“Someone decided to enact Plan B without our consent.”

_ “And?”  _ Jack hit him with the 'disappointed husband’ stare before shaking his head and continuing to shovel. “I'm glad you're both safe, but don't _ever_ d o that shit again.”

“Don’t give me that shit, Jackie. First of all,  _ you _ ran into that burning building first, and second of all, you  _ can not _ tell me that you wouldn't have tried to do the same if it was me in there.” Gabe raised an eyebrow. 

Jack grumbled but he didn't deny it.

That grumble was the closest he'd get to Jack admitting he was right. Gabe stared at the ground, “Honestly though, I didn't have a plan. I just…” His eyes stung at the memory of watching the warehouse explode around his husband. “You were in there and I--”

There was a  _ thud _ as the shovel hit the ground and Jack turned to pull his husband into a tight hug. “I know, Gabi. I would have done the same thing.” He kissed both of his eyelids, willing the tears away.

Gabe smiled, bowed his head and buried his face in Jack's chest with his arms around his husband's neck. “You're here though, that's all that matters to me, Jackie.”

He responded by squeezing Gabe closer and burying his nose into the soft brown curls. “I love you, Gabi. I know I don't say it enough but I do. I love you so much.”

“Jackie, I think you say it more than I do…” Gabe teased as he kissed Jack's chest, “But I love you too.” He ran his fingers through Jack's hair, smiling, “And you make my life so much better everyday.”

“Still not enough.” Jack  _ would _ choose this moment to be stubborn. 

“I've yet to find a day that I've objected to hearing it, and it will be a cold day in hell before I  _ do _ get tired of hearing it.”

Jack smiled into his hair, starting out with a soft puff before ending in a genuine laugh. It wasn't often that he got to put his super soldier strength to work but today? Today he picked up his husband and spun him around. 

“You guys are too cute,” Brigitte called from where she was leaning on a cane near the door. Her sprained ankle was severe enough that Ana insisted she keep using the cane, and with the pain it caused, she wasn't about to stop.

“Brigitte!” Jack promptly put Gabe down with a blush so dark it made his ears turn pink and his silver eyebrows nearly  _ glow. _ “You're alright. I was worried about you.”

“Thanks to you, yeah.” She smiled and slowly walked out toward them. On the last few feet, she tossed down the cane and Jack helpfully stepped in to catch her before she could fall. “I'm telling everyone about what I just saw, you know.”

“No--”

“Yep.”

Gabe laughed, “But you'll ruin his reputation…” He was mostly joking, seeing as how all of the kids never saw this side of Jack and thought he was just a stubborn asshole.

“His reputation could use some ruining,” Brigitte grinned. “If everyone saw  _ this,”  _ She gestured to where Jack was kneeling down while holding her hand to retrieve the cane. He blushed down his neck. “They'd probably get off his case.”

“You're not telling me anything I don't already know,  _ mija _ ,” Gabe chuckled. “But it's not up to me. It's up to him.”

Jack shrugged some as he carefully watched Brigitte to make sure she was steady on her feet before stepping away and pushing his hands into his pockets. “Genji said he thought I hated him. I've been trying to tell everyone when I'm worried.” He shrugged again. “'m trying. Not good at it, but trying.”

Gabe wrapped his arms around Jack's middle and nuzzled behind his ear with a smile, “You're doing great, Jackie.”

“Gabi, there is a kid standing right there--” His grumbles sounded more like a whine when Brigitte viewed them through this new lense. How many times had she thought he was just blowing off his husband when she was growing up?

“They'll come around… Jesse was wearing your jacket when we… the night after the warehouse exploded.”

“My jacket?” Jack asked, confused and cocking his head to one side. “Was it cold that night?”

Gabe opened his mouth, closed it and then decided that even though it had been, by Jesse's standards at least, that the temperature wasn't the point. “Jackie, his eyes were red… I don't think temperature had anything to do with it.”

That took a second to process. His mouth opened into a small 'o’ before he nodded and looked at his feet. “He's a good kid.” The man finally mumbled, not sure what else to say.

'A good kid’ was Jack's way of gushing about his kids when people were around. Gabe smiled and nodded, knowing that behind closed doors, Jack would  _ brag _ about his kids, including Jesse.  _ Especially  _ Jesse.  _ Always  _ about Jesse. _‘Look at this buck, Gabe! You would not believe the fish Jesse just pulled! Gabe! Gabe! You'll never believe what Jesse's growing this year!’_ The list was  _ endless _ .

Gabe rubbed Jack's shoulder lightly. “You're doing great, Jackie. I'm sure Jesse will enjoy the fishing trip a lot.”

“I hope so.”

\---

Jack almost felt bad about ripping Jesse away from Hanzo and called it off. He was finally happy, Jack had honestly been kind of concerned when he heard Hanzo swear up and down that he wasn't interested in a relationship, but that seemed to have worked itself out. He had their bags packed up, there was a good lake nearby that always had fish fed in from a river, and they'd be close enough that if something happened they could be hailed by the base. He just needed to ask the kid. 

When he saw Jesse at breakfast that morning, he stretched a bit of an awkward smile. “‘Mornin’ Jess. 's your arm feeling okay?” He completely forgot the fact that Jesse had slept through him returning home.

Jesse looked up with a surprised blink and then gave a small smile, “Oh hey Jack. When'd you get in?” He was glad to see Jack back, even if the two of them didn't always get along. His ma liked Jack and he was happy for Gabe. Jesse's eyes caught on the bandaged arm and cleaned up wounds on Jack's face and frowned slightly. What happened to him? Was he okay?

“Yesterday, just before dinner. Hanzo and Genji got me and Max back and I was tired so I went to sleep not long after,” Jack explained while pouring himself a mug of coffee. The base had been full of literal barrels of coffee grounds and in all the years here, he and the others had only barely scratched the surface. God help him when they finally ran out. 

Jesse nodded at the explanation and then chuckled, “Good to see ya back in...mostly one piece.”

“Me too.” Jack snorted, looking back over his shoulder. “I heard you got hurt. Are you ok?”

Jesse looked down at his wrapped arm, caught off guard by the question. “Yeah, arm got a little crispy but I can't really feel it. 'm fine.”

“Keep it clean, kiddo.” Jack commented before he could really stop himself. “I heard you got it keeping Gabe from throwing himself into the explosion. Thanks. I owe you one. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him.”

Jesse sighed at the 'kiddo’ but just let it go. Even if he hadn't been a kid for years and wished Jack would stop patronizing him like that. The rest though, he smiled at, even if he didn't verbally acknowledge it. “Hanzo has some experience takin’ care of burns… He's insisted on dressin’ it fer the most part, 'n I ain't got the heart t’ tell 'im no."

“In my experience,” Jack hummed over his cup, “With the Japanese at least, they're not an 'I love you' culture.” He shrugged, “They show it, not say it. He must care a lot.”

It wasn't like Jack to talk so much. Sure, they chatted here and there but it was always brief. Quick heads-ups or, in Jesse's case, there tended to be a lot of 'found this for you’. The little hints of information were nice though. He didn't know a whole lot about Japanese culture, besides what he could coax out of the brothers. Any little tidbit was a blessing in helping him understand Hanzo. “Yeah, he's good t’ me.”

“I’m glad,” Jack took a sip out of the mug and then moved with his bowl of hot cereal to sit at the table. “I was gonna go fishin’ today. I know your arm is hurting but I wondered if you wanted to go too?”

“Pfft,” Jesse gave a snort, “My arm ain't hurtin' me. I don't feel shit.”

“That’s not a yes or no,” Jack raised an eyebrow, blowing on a spoonful of hot cereal before taking a bite.

Jesse chuckled, “When have I ever said 'no’ to a fishing trip?”

“Fair.” The older man was stirring his food, wishing the corn grits would cool down faster so he could eat them. The cold milk and honey helped some but goat’s milk still tasted weird to him. “I got the stuff packed up already.”

“Right, probably oughta go grab some stuff t’ redress my arm later t'day 'n go let Hanzo know so he ain't lookin’ for me.” Jesse pushed himself up, grabbing the mug of almost cold coffee he hadn't touched since sitting down. “I'll meet ya by yer shop?”

“Yeah,” Jack bobbed his head. “I’ll be out there in a bit.”

Jesse drained the coffee, cold as it was because even though they probably had a longer supply of coffee grounds than they did literally anything else, he couldn't bring himself to waste it. He wasn't exactly sure where Hanzo was, maybe not awake yet. Jesse had been up on night watch, though warily so. Everything had made him jump last night. Enough so that he'd carried his muzzleloader anyway. Hurting his arm a little was a better fate than death. 

He headed for his room for the kit that Hanzo had been using on his arm and hoping that Hanzo might still be in bed.. If he hoped that for slightly selfish reasons that included getting to snuggle Hanzo awake, well then, that was between him and the stupid grin on his face.  Unfortunately, Hanzo was already up and the bed empty. Jesse sighed softly, grabbing the kit and his jacket. His eyes darted around the room, landing on his muzzleloader and a small pile of bombs. He was taking those too.    
  
“You’re up.” Hanzo’s voice called from the doorway. He sounded out of breath. Upon further inspection, he  _ was _ out of breath because the ninja had just gotten back in from doing his morning run and reps. Hanzo was sweaty and flushed, holding a towel and some soap in one hand because it seemed like he was getting ready to head into Jesse’s bathroom to shower.  _ “Ohayo.” _

Jesse’s head popped up in an instant, eyes lit up. “There ya are, darlin’!” He set the kit down by his gun and tossed the jacket over his shoulder. “Was just about t’ go lookin’ for ya.”

“I was out on my run,” Hanzo smiled, catching his breath a bit easier and toeing off his shoes by the door before slipping on a pair of simple house shoes to walk across Jesse’s room. “Did you need me for something?”

“Was gonna let ya know that I’m goin’ out on a lil’ fishin’ trip with Jack. Didn’t want ya t’ worry when ya couldn’t find me on base.” Jesse smiled, holding out his hand to see if Hanzo would take it and if Jesse could maybe coax him into a little hug.

He did take the hand, but kept further back because he was  _ gross _ and he didn’t want to get that gross on Jesse. “Ah,  _ souda. _ I need a shower, I’m sweaty.”

“Darlin’, I don’t care that yer sweaty. C’mere.” Jesse didn’t force it though. He squeezed Hanzo’s hand and offered him a smile.

Hanzo responded by sucking his teeth in a ‘tch’ before taking the offer and hugging Jesse. He went so far as to smear the sweat from his forehead all over the cowboy’s scruffy jaw, smirking when he pulled back. “I warned you.”

Jesse gently shoved at Hanzo’s jaw, but the cowboy was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Still don’t care.” He nuzzled Hanzo’s shoulder as he gently squeezed him.

“You should, it’s gross. You better not get _ me _ sweaty.” Hanzo was smiling though; his jokes were easy to spot like that. “But seriously though, I need to rinse off.” The fact that he could rinse off in the cold shower water that they had was remarkable, showers were barely tolerable except in the summer when the storage tank on the roof warmed in the sun.

“I’ll make sure I come give you a big ole bear hug next summer.” Jesse winked with a crooked grin and then let Hanzo go. He shook his head at the man, “I’ll leave ya to that. Won’t catch me touchin’ them showers ‘til it’s warm again.”

“Of course not,” Hanzo scoffed, stretching his arms above his head before walking to the bathroom. The slippers he wore in the main room were left at the door. “Have a good fishing trip, Jesse.”

“Thanks. I’m sure I will… It’ll be good to get out ‘n relax. Probably one of the only times me ‘n Jack can agree on anything.” He gave a little huff, “Pity that’s the case.” He’d been back and forth on how he’d felt about Jack since they met, but generally these days, he liked Jack well enough he guessed. He just never could figure him out. Hell, this was the first time that Jack had even really showed concern about one of his injuries. That, in of itself, was odd.

“Maybe that’ll change!” Hanzo cheered before shutting the door and turning on the water.

“Maybe…” Jesse mumbled, tone somewhere between hopeful and resigned. He slipped his jacket on and gathered up his supplies and weapons for the trip, slinging the rifle over his back and tucking the explosives and med kit into a worn old leather messenger bag that had been patched up so many times it was impossible to tell what the original color or leather was. He also tucked away a notebook, a pen and a small bundle of apple twigs and headed for the door. “See ya later, darlin’!” The only thing he wished, as he headed down to the workshop, was that it was a warmer day. Oh well, it was still a fishing trip… and it wasn’t ice fishing in the dead of winter. He fished an apple twig out of his bag as he got closer and chewed on the end.

“Ready when you are.” He announced as he got close enough for the old man to hear.

Jack was already there when he arrived, sitting in his buckskin chair at his desk, working on a notebook, counting on one hand. “I’m almost done. I gotta check…” Jack opened up a drawer, pulled out a worn leather bound book, and flipped it open before making a notation in his notebook. “Ok, done.” He sat the notebook on a shelf on top of similar books before setting the ink pen in an old bottle on the desk and pushed away. “I set the bags and poles by the door,” Jack commented, pointing to where Jesse had already likely found them. “I made sure to snag the heavy coat for you.” The heaviest duty leather coats were hard to make and right now they were sharing one between the three of them. On a day like today, Jack didn’t need it but he’d grabbed it for Jesse. That poor kid was always cold.

Jesse had always liked that chair. Jack had done a good job on it. His eyes flicked over the shop, always finding it amusing how many hides and skullcap mounts could be found all over it. A few he recognized, like Brigitte’s lop-sided ‘weird buck’. It was hard not to recognize those antlers though. He slung the heavy jacket over his shoulder with a huff of laughter, “Thanks, old man. Not sure if I’ll need it today or not. 

“You might, ‘s gonna rain.” Jack mentioned, pulling on his ‘76’ jacket and a cap before picking up his backpack and throwing it on. He always brought enough stuff to hide out for a night if necessary, so he had enough supplies to pitch a tent if they needed. 

“Maybe,” Jesse shrugged. He both did and didn’t hope for rain. Fishing in the rain was miserable business, but catching fish got stupidly easy. Rain tended to knock bugs out of trees and into the water, enticing everything to come toward the top for an easy meal. The little ones followed the bugs, and the big boys followed the little ones. “At least if it rains, the fish’ll get stupid.”

“I’m hopin’ for one of your big ones. I could go for something that ain’t a chicken.”

Jesse grabbed one of the packs and a rod, a slight uncomfortable frown tugging at his mouth as Jack made mention of the fish. Was the old man just fucking with him? Jack had never called any of his fish ‘big’. Just grunted when he found out who caught it. Maybe if he was someone else Jack would have given more of a damn, but Jesse had given up on that years ago. “Pretty sure Brigitte has  _ consistently  _ caught fish bigger’n anything I’ve  _ ever  _ brought home.”

Jack just blinked at him a couple of times before walking back into his shop and grabbed the same notebook he’d been writing in when Jesse walked in. He flipped it all the way to the back and then shook his head, “Your average size fish has about a pound on hers for this year.”

“Huh,” Jesse gave an interested noise. He wasn’t sure why Jack was keeping track but whatever floated his boat. “I thought they were bigger’n that.”

“She beat you last year.” Jack commented, digging through the stack as he pulled another book. “Yeah, last year she had you beat by just over an ounce.”

Jesse snorted. “Maybe that’s where I’m gettin’ it. I know she’s always bringin’ home monster fish though.”

“She’s also bringing home smaller ones,” Jack shrugged, putting it back and grabbing his bag as he headed for the door. “Yours are always consistently large. It evens out.”

He what? Jesse stopped and rubbed his neck. He didn’t think they were all that big. His eyes flicked to the ground and then back up, brows furrowed. Jack was acting weird. Maybe it was the near-death experience that made him act this way? He chewed on the twig for a moment and then followed Jack out.

The older man was happy for the silence, not sure what else to say anyway. He always felt like he could never say the right thing to Jesse so he’d long ago quit trying. This, like every other time he’d tried to be nice to the kid, was already going south. So he just shoved his hands into his pockets and got out on the trail with Jesse headed to the lake while the sun peeked over the horizon. The world went on, he smiled despite himself. Jack had taken all the kids down this path, so much so that at one point Brigitte had even set up small cairn markers along it on the side. Jack sometimes came through and cleaned it up here and there with a shovel. This was the way to the lake and that made it important. He glanced up, inhaling deeply with a sigh. After so many years on this mountain he could taste the rain in the air as they walked down the trail. His mind wandered, keeping busy with worries that he couldn’t do anything about as they walked. Jack moved on autopilot for most of the day, anyway, and when he was walking a well worn path it got even worse. He should have been on full alert but instead his mind wandered. What if he couldn’t do anything about this? What if Jesse just hated him forever? He’d already accepted that the kid didn’t like him but he didn’t want Jess to hate him. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he nearly walked right _into_ the lake. Jack stopped just short and dropped the pack, starting to open it up and fish out the small tin that contained his hand wrapped lures. This early it would be easy to find worms.

It was a pity that grasshoppers were damn near impossible to find this late in the year. They were easier to find than worms and the little fish always seemed to love them. Jesse sighed as he went looking for bait. He’d just need a little bit until the little ones got to nibbling. He kicked a log over, sending little creatures scuttling in every direction, but he was interested mostly in the big, fat slow worms inching away from the sudden light. He dug around for a few more and, satisfied that he’d have enough to catch his  _ real _ bait, headed back to plop down next to Jack.  He was in the middle of baiting his line with the first worm when he caught sight of one wiggling out of his bait cup. He furrowed his brow and then, his eyes shifted to Jack with a mischievous twinkle as he picked it up and tossed it at the older man, catching him on the cheek. The mischievous look in his eyes turned to a full scale grin and then a laugh as the worm stuck there and then kinda, slowly slipped and landed on Jack’s shoulder.

The older man froze when it hit his cheek and  _ stuck _ to his beard, staring out at the lake and as it fell he ran his tongue against his teeth because  _ really? _ The older man reached out and solidly pushed Jesse over before taking the worm and beginning to thread it onto his hook. If it weren’t for the kid’s busted wing, he’d have tossed his ass in the lake.

Jesse waited until Jack didn’t have a hook in his hand and then grinned and shoved him back. If it weren’t for his arm, he might have considered trying to put Jack in the lake. Oh well. Later. That would have to wait until later. He was grateful that it was his non-dominant arm that had gotten busted up though as he swung the pole to the side and then flicked it out, casting the line out far in front of him.

“It’s nice out.” Jack commented, flicking his line directly out over his head and leaning back to just enjoy the sun on his face.

“Bit chilly for my liking, but yeah, it is… maybe if we’re lucky it’ll hold off raining for a bit so we can enjoy it.” Colorado was  _ always  _ a bit chilly for Jesse’s liking though. Him commenting that it was cold was like saying the sky was blue, or water was wet.

“Hope so.” Jack hummed, shoving the pole under a rock beside him and leaned back on the bank to tip his hat down over his eyes. “Can’t sunbathe if it rains.”

“Good luck with that great  _ mountainman  _ tan everyone raves about.” Jesse snorted as his line jerked. Oh good, maybe that would be his next big fish’s lunch. He pulled the line in, brows furrowing at how much it fought him.

Jack snorted through his nose and pulled his bag under his head to get more comfortable. He didn’t seem to care one way or the other about whether or not he caught fish, he was enjoying laying down and talking. “Farmer tan makes all the boxers drop, or so I’ve been told.”

Jesse laughed as he pulled in his first fish. “If you can get a tan while laying on the ground under some trees in the middle of fall in Colorado yer a miracle worker. I swear the only reason I keep a tan’s cause I was born with it.” It was just a small whitefish, but he hoped he’d entice a lake trout to come up for a bite with it. Even if it was just a rainbow, trout was trout and it was good eating.

“Mm. I’ll just smear on some dirt ‘n play dumb.” Jack yawned, ignoring the way his pole wiggled under the rock he had it secured on.

“Gonna lose that line if ya ain’t careful.” Jesse warned as he unhooked the whitefish from the line and pulled out his knife to cut it up. The head he tossed in the water, grinning as the water rippled and splashed from below. The rest went in his bait cup, and he hooked the tail on to his line, hoping that splashing meant something good. He cast his line back out and settled back to wait.

“Mm.” Jack grunted again, reaching out to pull the line out, unhook the small fish and then toss it in before casting again. “Line saved.”

A frown crossed Jesse’s face as he watched Jack toss the fish back. That would have been a perfect bait fish! Those scales were perfectly shiny and fish loved shiny things… not unlike Genji, actually. “Hey, if ya keep catchin’ lil ones like that, toss ‘em this way? I use ‘em as bait.”

“Sure thing, kiddo.” Jack responded easily, crossing his legs and starting to snooze. The lake must’ve been hopping with fish that day because it felt as if he’d barely closed his eyes and the pole was rocking in its hold again soon. This time when he picked up the fish, Jack smirked a little and lobbed it at Jesse’s face so it’d smack the kid right in the cheek.  _ That _ was for the worm.

Well, he had said  _ toss _ . So Jesse just laughed and got to work cutting up this fish. This head he didn’t throw into the lake just yet. He didn’t want some big ass fish going for it instead of his line. Every now and again, he wiggled his line, pulling it in some and waiting, hoping the tail and smell of guts would get a bite.  Something tapped his line and he side-eyed it warily before reeling in slowly. Tap. Tap. Tap. Something suddenly yanked hard on his line, almost jerking it out of his hand and he gave a shocked yell as it ran, digging in his heels as he tried to reel it in.  _ Snap! _ “Fuckin’ Christ.”

Jack pushed the brim of his old, worn ball cap up and raised an eyebrow before sitting up and watching the line. “Well, that’ll be a story they won’t believe.” 

“Motherfucker stole my hook,” Jesse whined as he stared at the frayed ends of his fishing line. They didn’t have actual fishing line anymore so they used thin, braided cotton. “What the fuck even was that? It almost yanked me off my feet. An’ I ain’t no featherweight."

“Big fish, I’d guess. Or Nessie. You think she got a new pad? It’s a bigger place than the last one.” Jack asked, grinning as he got comfortable on the bank again.

“Well, no shit it was a big fish…” Jesse rolled his eyes. 

“Keep fishin’ kid. You’ll either catch it or fill it up with your bait.” Jack grinned, crossing his arms and pulling the bill of his cap down again.

That earned another eye roll and Jesse unwound his spool. He’d need a stronger line for whatever the hell that was. He groaned as he folded the line over, cut it, and then folded it over again and started twining them together. He grumpily tossed the head in the water, grumbling again, “Can’t believe that fucker snapped my line.”

“You’ll get another one.” Jack chuckled, humming under his breath and bobbing his foot along to whatever tune it was. Sounded like Johnny Cash.

"Yeah, I know it… but I’m just kinda worried about what the hell’s in that lake if it just snapped my line like that. I’ve caught some lake trout and ain’t none of them have snapped a line...” 

“I stand by the fact that it’s Nessie.” Jack hummed, not perturbed one bit.

“Imagine the look on Brigitte’s face if I bring  _ that  _ home.” Jesse chuckled, still braiding the line together. It probably wasn’t really good for his arm to keep doing this, but he was going to catch that fish.

“You’re gonna need a stronger line, kid.” Jack snickered, rolling on his side.

“Workin’ on it.” Jesse grumbled. He furrowed his brow when the first snore came out of the older man and then turned his head to stare when Jack continued to snore. Of course the  _ old man _ was taking a nap. Jesse eyed Jack’s line. He could reel anything that hit it up and keep it as bait… or food, whatever.   
  
He finally got the new line braided and spooled, and then restrung his rod and tied off a new hook. He rebaited it, this time with the fish Jack had tossed at him, and tossed his line out.   
  
It seemed that whatever had almost pulled him in had also scared off most of the other fish. While he waited for something to his his line, he stole Jack’s rod to mess with those fancy lures the old man had. Cast, reel and wiggle the line. Repeat until fish decided to nibble. This continued for quite some time, giving Jesse something to do while Jack had his nap. Even though he’d hauled up some decent brook trout and a nice-sized cutthroat, Jesse still put them on Jack’s stringer rather than his own. It was Jack’s rod and Jack’s lure. It felt wrong to say he’d  _ caught  _ them.   
  
After what seemed like forever, his line bobbed and Jesse quickly wedged Jack’s rod back in the rocks where it had been, reeling his in slow. Another bob, and then the pole bent sharply. Jesse let it run for a little bit and then slowly reeled it back towards him. It was heavy, that was a good sign, and it fought him hard. Probably a trout. He pulled back on the rod, and finally hauled in his catch and stared at the long black-striped fish with rainbow-like scales on the sides and belly as it thrashed on the ground. Whatever it was, it was big, ugly and mean as sin. “Hey Jack. Take a look at this thing’s  _ teeth.” _

The snores that had been even beside Jesse hitched, stopping when he he heard his name and the old man breathed in deeply before rolling over to look at Jesse and the fish. “Mm..” He grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting up. “Snakehead.” He nodded, “Good eatin’. Pretty big too.” He sounded pretty fucking out of it, and that was probably because he’d just woken up. That stint stuck out in the forest had really done a number on him; Jack could use all the sleep he could get.

“Huh.” Jesse looked back down at it and then strung it up on a seperate stringer. “Not puttin’ it near my other fish though. They might catch the ugly… or get eaten.”

“Mmhmm.” Jack was halfway back to sleep already, crossing his arms over his chest as he bounced one foot to a tune only he could hear. “I heard about you and Hanzo. ‘m happy for you.”

Jesse narrowed his eyes at Jack. Jack had never been ‘happy for him’. He was quiet for a moment or two, casting his line back out as he mulled over the words. “I mean, I dunno if--” Jesse chewed on his lip, “I don't think--” He heaved a tired sigh, “It's too early t’…” He just couldn't get the words out. Not around Jack, because Jack had never been someone he talked to like that. Ever. He let out another sigh and reeled in his line, “Y’ got some decent trout on yer line while you were asleep. Pulled ‘em up and put 'em on yer stringer for ya.”

“Thank you,” Jack responded even if it sounded like he’d had to mull it over and then decide to think about what he should reply with. The older man sat up and looked across the lake, watching the way the water rippled for a moment. He was thinking. “Genji told me he was afraid of me, when I went to save him. Said he thought I wouldn’t come for him. I’ve been askin’ around and I just… quit after a few ‘yes’s.” The old man looked back at his hands and pursed his lips. “I think my worst nightmare is that my kids might be scared of me and I’m livin’ it.”

At first, only the sound of Jesse's line being cast back out could be heard, and then Jesse spoke again, “I used t’ be intimidated by ya too at first, kinda why I worked so hard at first… now it's just habit. Always figured if I worked real hard and brought back shit y'all couldn't get anyway else, y'all’d have t’ keep me around, 'n even then, just never felt like it was good enough.” Jesse stared at the ground between his feet, shoulders dropping, “I eventually got over it... guessin’ somewhere 'round the time I found Kaspar and you cleared out the garage for me.”

“I’m sure some of that was my fault.” Jack frowned, still watching the water. “I’m sorry, Jesse. I’ve never even considered kicking you out, you know that right?” He looked back at him for a moment with a rare instant of vulnerability scrawled across his face before turning away again. “No, of course you didn’t. I never said so. I’m sorry.”

“Kinda had t’ figure that one out by myself, yeah.” Jesse admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I'm sorry too, though. I wasn't exactly… I was an asshole and I know it. I don't blame ya for gettin’ fed up with me.”

“I wasn’t fed up with ya, kid.” Jack actually laughed softly, pulling off his knitted hat before running a hand through his hair and replacing it. “I can’t remember ever getting fed up. You pissed me off a few times but that’s just how it works.”

“C'mon, old man. I ain't a kid. Wasn't even a kid when ya picked me up. I was like 20-somethin’.”

Jack laughed harder then, throwing his head back as he did while rubbing his hands over his face. He clearly thought that was  _ hilarious. _ “Are you kidding me?” The man asked, turning back around and looked at him as if he couldn’t quite believe it. “Jesse, I don’t think you’ve realized this but it doesn’t  _ matter.” _ He looked back at the lake and smiled wide enough that the crinkles beside his eyes carved deep valleys. “You’ll always be my kid, till the day you die.”

The hackles that had bristled up at getting  _ laughed at _ slowly settled as the words sunk in. He worked his jaw for a little while, biting back the venomous,  _ 'Could have fooled me _ ’ in favor of something a little less spiteful but no less honest, “Y'know, 's funny you say that. When I first got here I looked up to you more'n Reyes. Always brought ya shit cause after all the bullshit I went and got myself into after my pops died and we moved to Arizona, I figured I needed someone to straighten me out.”  _ 'I wanted you to like me…’  _ “But it seemed like every time I talked to you, ya just brushed me off. So I quit tryin’. By the time ya came around and tried t’ compliment on that fish or whatever it was, ya'd blown me off so much I figured you were full'a shit…”

“‘Blown you off’...?” Jack seemed confused as he turned around long enough to search through pebbles on the shore for one he could skip. “I--” The thing with Jack was that he tended to think a lot and say only what he absolutely had to so for this he stopped and read across the lines on this pebble as if they were a manual for apologizing after being a terrible father. Even if that had only been a father figure. He finally reached back and tossed it across the waves. “Shit, I’m just like my dad.”

If Jesse felt like he was brushing him off then it meant Jack needed to talk more-- _ go figure,  _ that was exactly what Gabe told him all the time--and something as simple as ‘just like my dad’ wasn’t going to cut it here. Jesse had been there for some fifteen some odd years. He deserved more than that. “You know I’m from Indiana, right?”

“Ayep.” Jesse nodded as he reeled in his line to throw it elsewhere and swearing when the bait was missing.

He worked his jaw and tried to decide how to say this, having a few false starts before finally deciding on one. “My father was the sheriff of my town.” He explained, “My town was in the heart of a deep red state. I’m gay. Not bi, not ace,  _ gay. _ Do not pass go,  _ gay.” _

Jesse winced because he'd made the mistake of eyeing up a guy a little too long while out on a run with Deadlock. As a bisexual man, he could at least… hide it a bit better, but he'd always had a preference for men. Always. In the wrong company and the wrong state, those lingering looks had gotten him in some pretty nasty fights. He still had scars from some of them and it was only because most of the time, Deadlock boys weren't too far away that he wasn't dead from getting jumped. He rubbed the one on his arm where someone had smashed a bottle on his shoulder. “I could hide it a bit better, bein' bi but… I know all about bein’ gay 'r well 'half-gay’ as some like t’ put it in red states.”

“I couldn’t.” Jack shrugged some, standing up so he could walk about ten feet down the bank and pull an old ammo box out of a bush to open it up and retrieve skipping stones. “I was  _ real _ obvious.” He smiled very tightly, shaking his head. “I brought flowers to a boy in kindergarten,  _ gay. _ I kissed a boy and I liked it,  _ gay. _ Shitting rainbows,  _ gay.” _

Jesse had been smiling when Jack mentioned the second one, “Pity there was no cherry chapstick, huh?” Old Man Carlos had blasted music from the '90s and early 2000s long after the artists had retired or died and were no longer relevant to the younger generations. He got a lot of references that most people of his generation didn't. However, he died laughing when Jack popped off that last bit. Part of it was shock, a startled bark proceeding the cackle but part of it was just that he found it hilarious.

Jack grinned, turning back to Jesse long enough to wink at him before taking one of his skipping stones and tossing it across the surface of the water. “He tasted like sour apple jolly ranchers.” The old soldier smiled back at the water but the smile turned back into something soft and sad. “My dad caught wind of it and I never saw that boy again.”

Jesse's light-hearted tease died in his throat as Jack continued past the mention of what the boy tasted like and into the more horrid parts. “Pity ya can't look 'im up.” He frowned, “I think I was drunk for my first kiss with a boy… so I uh, alcohol. Rum. I think. I-- I also got jumped that night so… I don't remember much. Got jumped a lot for lookin’ at boys just a little too long. Kinda why I stopped drinkin’.”

“I don’t think you understand, Jesse.  _ Nobody _ ever saw that boy again.” Jack stressed, shaking his head as he turned back to the lake and threw another stone. “He was the sheriff. He could just make people go away. I never did anything right and I did a lot of things wrong. I played football and joined the army and I was  _ still _ too girly. I couldn’t do anything right.” He huffed out a harsh breath; this time when he threw a stone it didn’t skip. “The military was actually better and that was with the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ At least they didn’t just assume.”

Jesse shook his head, because the pessimist in him whispered murdered, but the little part of him that still hoped for better in people hoped that the kid had survived. That things had gotten better than that, but he  _ knew _ better because he had  _ experienced  _ people that wanted him dead because he stared at a boy's ass. “I always just got blamed for turning some guy's little brother gay or some shit and beat for it. I never took anythin’ that my partner didn't want. I may've done a lotta shit my mama raised me t’ be better than, but I never crossed that line. Won't  _ ever _ cross that line.”

“I know.” Jack smiled at him and threw another stone. This time, it skipped and made it nearly to the other bank. “My mom was never too bad. I don’t think she really cared, but she was scared of my father. So was I. I swore I’d never be like him and I ended up  _ just _ like him. My kids are scared of me and I made you think that I was blowing you off. I’m just like him.” He went to toss another rock and realized he had run out of skipping stones.

Jesse frowned softly and passed Jack another skipping stone, “Nah. You're nothin’ like him if he's the kind of person to abuse his fuckin’ power bein’ a ragin’ homophobe.” Jesse glared out over the water, “You're better'n him. You stopped and picked a scrawny lil gang punk off the side of the road and kept him around even though he flat out said he'd considered stealing the truck.” Jesse took a deep breath, “You let me stay even though I was the biggest pain in the ass back then, even though I could have royally fucked y'all in those first several months, and expressed that I considered it. It took Ms. Amari and Reyes years t’ trust me, but you just… did. Ya ate into the diesel reserves just t’ drive my ass to Arizona on the barest chance my mama might be there and might have survived. I-- yeah it didn't feel like I was doin’ enough most of the time, but maybe I just...never did understand ya well enough. My pops was… he was the kind that always told me ‘good job’ or something like it. It’s all I was ever used to. But ya always did a lot for me and I--” His tone lowered as something dawned on him, “I never really thanked ya for it...”

“You shouldn’t have t’ thank me.” Jack took the stone and skipped it easily, smiling as it made it far enough to land on the distant shore. “That’s just what parents do.”

“Ain't how I was raised, sorry old man, yer just gonna have t’ deal with a few ‘thank you’s.” Jesse grinned weakly.

“I haven’t ever told you to stop, have I?” He smirked and gave him a nudge in the shoulder as he knelt down to look for more skipping stones. “You should have seen my father’s face when I brought Gabe home. _ Gabe. _ Big, masculine,  _ Latino, _ gang-tattooed son-of-a-bitch Gabriel Reyes.”

“Oh, I bet he  _ loved  _ him.”

“I was hoping he would have a stroke and with the way his face turned red, he might’ve. I mean, we still ended up in a jail cell and had to call our CO in SEP to get us out, but it was totally worth it.”

Jesse cackled, holding out another skipping stone and then finally remembered to put bait back on his line and cast it out. “Doubt I'll get anything with those rocks yer throwin’ but it's worth a shot.”

“I am proud of you, though, Jesse. I’m serious. Ask Gabe sometime--” He raised an eyebrow, “He swears up and down that you’re my favorite. I mean, you  _ are _ but that isn’t the point.” Jack wasn’t known for saying anything just to flatter people. If he said Jesse was his favorite, then he was.

“Oh no, Jefe's said it, I just didn't believe him.” Jesse mumbled quietly as his ears started to burn with how dark he'd blushed. “I-- I'm sorry for bein’ an ass t’ ya all these years. I just didn't know how t’ take half the shit ya said and…” He gave a soft, sheepish grin, “Southern folks get real passive-aggressive for the sake of savin’ face. Everythin’ is all about  _ how _ ya say somethin’ and most of the time, it was yer tone that threw me off.”

“As long as you’ve known me, you ought to know by now that my voice only makes so many sounds.” Jack snorted, shaking his head as he finally sat back down from all the skipping stones. He’d probably run off all the fish with that.

“Oh, sure!” Jesse counted on his fingers, “Grumpy, Sleepy… Bashful the second ya start talkin’ t’ my mama or Ms. Amari. Can't decide if yer Dopey or Happy 'round Jefe. Sneezy snows up in spring.” He cracked a grin, “Yer almost always Doc… hell I think ya got all seven dwarves there!"

“That is--” He stopped and squinted, “That is before  _ my _ time. I don’t--” Jack waved a hand and sighed. “You asked me if it was a big fish, I said ‘uh huh’ and you got mad. I didn’t know what else to say, I’m not good with kids. I’m not good with adults, either. My whole life consisted of putting my head down and saying ‘yes sir’ and hoping that sounded straight enough.” He shrugged, “I probably should’ve said more but it’s all that came to mind at the time.”

Jesse took a deep breath, “It ain't yer fault I was raised 'round folks that would smile to yer face and say, ‘Uh huh’ like they cared and really they just wanted ya t’ shut up and go away.”

“I was just agreeing with you, kid.” Jack sighed. “When’ve I ever said something I didn’t mean or sugar coated shit for you?”

“I realize that now, but… it's kneejerk. You'd 'huh’ or 'uh huh’ at me and it always felt like I was botherin’ ya… so I stopped.”

“I just make those noises when I don’t know what else to say,” Jack was frustrated but he did little more than kick a few rocks into the lake to show it. “I didn’t want you to  _ stop. _ I liked it. I felt important. I mean, I also felt  _ stupid, _ but that was more because I didn’t know what else to say.”

Jesse scooted closer to gently bump Jack and then chuckled, “I kinda picked up the noises from ya…” He rubbed the back of his neck, not sure what to say to the rest, they couldn't go back and fix what had happened, but maybe they could start on making things better between them.

Jesse glanced back as something tagged his line, nipping at it before the pole bent sharply and Jesse had to grab it with both hands. “Shit! I think Nessie's back for dessert.”

“Holy--” Jack had been fishing in this lake with Jesse for years and he’d never seen a pole do  _ that _ before. He quickly jogged around the bank behind him and grabbed the net that he always brought with him. “Do you think you can bring it close?”

“I can try?” Jesse was doing his best to not get pulled into the lake or, worse, snap his line or rod.

The older fisherman seemed to think better of using the small net and actually grabbed a large free net with stones tied to the bottom that he used when salmon came through along with his rubber pants so he could at least try to be prepared.

Jesse gently coaxed it closer, alternating reeling and letting it run fee.

In the shallows, it was easier to see the fish. The damn thing had to be at least five foot.

There was no way it was going to fit in any net Jack had brought. Once he saw the fish, that much was evident. Jack abandoned the idea of trying to get his rubber pants on and just sloshed into the water, trying to line up exactly how he was going to tackle this fish. “When I go for it, you gotta give me some line or else it’ll break and then if I miss the fish, it’ll get away. Ok, kid?”

“Yeah.” Jesse mumbled, not totally paying attention because his attention was on the fish. “Can do.”

Jack waited till he was in position behind the fish and then counted off. At ‘one’, he lurched forward and landed on the behemoth, pinning it down and wrestling the creature until he could get his hands into the gills and pull it up onto the shore. It was too fucking cold to be in the water wrestling fish but he wasn’t about to let this one get away. “Jesse, this thing is  _ huge.” _ He breathed, watching it thrash on the rocks.

Jesse stared at the massive fish in awe. “Split the points with ya.”

“I think we’ll still beat Brigitte.” Jack commented, putting out a hand to shake. “Deal.”

“Oh, she'll be  _ sick.”  _ Jesse grinned as he shook Jack's hand. He looked back. “What  _ is  _ it? Think it's good eatin’?”

“Fuck no.” Jack’s nose scrunched up, “Look at it. It’s a  _ carp. _ We’ll be better off eatin’ the bricks we cook it on. The barn cats will be well fed though.”

Jesse let out a small whine, “Damn. All that work and it's practically useless. He glanced back at his stringer, “An’ I only pulled up that snakehead besides this damn thing. Good thing yer line caught some trout.”

“I mean, I haven’t checked yet but if you say so.” Jack hummed, rubbing his chin as he started to walk down the shore toward where it emptied out into a small creek.

“Course not, ya were too busy sleepin’. I did it for ya.” Jesse snorted and rolled his eyes, following Jack along the bank.

“I think you’re mistaking ‘sleeping’ for working smarter and not harder.” Jack grinned, even going so far as turning around to make finger guns at his ‘kid’.

Jesse couldn't resist the urge to finger gun back and then laughed, “Ya got me.”

Jack could only laugh and turn back around, walking up the shore a bit longer before grabbing a rock near the shore to reach underneath and take out a rope. The rope led out into the lake where repurposed bottles seemed to bob just under the surface and he pulled them in. One after the other after the other, Jack pulled up hook after hook that had fish on them. “Well… it ain’t a big ass carp, but it’s all edible.”

Jesse opened his mouth, staring at Jack for a moment before he closed his mouth, shook his head and lifted his hand to pat the older man on the back, “I gotta hand it to ya, old man...” He gave a shove and a grin, “You got me.”

The old man was nothing if not still at the top of his game. When Jesse shoved him in, Jack spun and grabbed the kid by the front of his shirt because if  _ he _ was going back in that lake, Jesse was sure as hell coming  _ with him. _

The cowboy yelped and flailed for a minute before groaning and splashing water at Jack, “C'mon now! Pond gunk gets in everything! I can't keep my arm clean if ya throw my ass in a lake!”

Jack dunked him again for his trouble. “Be cleansed, heathen.”

Jesse wrapped his arms around one of Jack's knees and pulled instead. The old man went straight into the water on his back and came up spluttering.

“Alright, alright. That’s enough.” Jack grumbled, pulling Jesse up to his feet so they could both get out of the water. “Let’s go home, kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Jesse finally sorted out what the hell was wrong with the two of them :D!


	14. Chapter 14

_Thursday, 22nd of November, 2074_

_Another attack last night. That’s four of them this week. It keeps getting more frequent and there are always more zombies than the last attack. We’ve been here for over fifteen years and we have never seen this many attacks, this frequently. Ana keeps saying we need to leave, I’m not so sure. Maybe it’ll settle back down._

_Last night I hallucinated out there. I think one of them must have hit me over the head because I swear I saw two bright blue dragons actually attacking those zombies. There’s no way it could’ve been real. I should keep an eye on my electrolytes._

_Max’s feeling better. He’s in there cooking with the girls and getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow. He’s put on some weight but not as much as I’d like. I think he and Genji are getting along. He and Jesse fight like cats and dogs._

_Speaking of Max, he streamlined our electricity grid once he got up and moving. Ana says that with the increased attacks and his ability, along with the fact that apparently he told her that a signal out of Houston was broadcasting a need for an experienced electrician to help Overwatch--she thinks that Winston is still alive somehow. I don’t think there is any way it’s possible. He was an old man when I knew him, if he did survive all this shit, he should have died of natural causes._

_We’ve killed so many already, there can’t be any more out there… right?_

_Jack_

\---

When he’d heard it, he nearly dropped the egg in his hand on the floor in surprise. “What? Say that again?” Max asked, eyes wide as he turned around to look Jack in the eye--or where he thought his eyes should be. He was actually looking at his jugular.

“I said, ‘I’ve never had pasta that didn’t come from a box.’” The old soldier sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Max had been preparing his additions to the thanksgiving feast for _weeks_ and Jack was going to eat it even if it was disgusting for that very reason, but he hadn’t banked on exactly how much shit he’d get for admitting that he’d never had fresh pasta.

 _“Poverino,”_ Max cooed at him as he cracked the egg into a well of the finest ground flour this base had ever produced, reaching for another. “I’mma fix that.”

Ingrid rolled her eyes with a hearty laugh from the other side of the kitchen. There were few people in here for the final prep this morning, but they had plenty of onlookers. Their resident blind man was a good cook, a fact which blew Ingrid’s mind every time she watched him flawlessly crack an egg, and the smell of pumpkin spice and basil garlic had attracted a crowd outside the door. Thanksgiving wasn’t something they’d usually put so much fuss into but this year Max had insisted.

Even Ana had been roped into it. The sniper was sitting at the other counter carefully preparing the layers of pastry that would become their dessert.

“I don’t speak Italian, kid, but I know a _‘pobrecito’_ when I hear one.” Jack grumbled, snatching up one of Max’s cheese curds from the counter even as he was yelled at for his trouble.

“Hey, don’t steal food, Jack.” Ana turned and waved her fork at him. “The only reason you’re even allowed in here is because you butchered the chicken.” Which was currently being stuffed full of herbs by Ingrid.

“You’re worse than Jesse!” Naomí scolded as she rapped her son's hand without looking as he reached around a corner for cookies cooling on a tray. He'd brought in a ham from a boar that he'd gone hunting for yesterday and so had lingered in the kitchen on that excuse alone. With all of the attacks, Jack hadn't been able to go out and get a turkey. Thus far, all the two of them had done since getting there was pilfer food. She shook her spoon at the both of them and then gave a protest as Genji joined the food stealing but was too fast for her and scampered away with a cookie between each finger like shuriken.

Genji passed a few of the cookies off to Jesse and then snuck in behind Jack and tapped him on the shoulder to offer cookies to him as well.

That cookie was taken, at least by Jack, and the old soldier put it between his teeth and made sure Ingrid could see it before he left.

“Ugh! How are we going to have enough cookies for later if they keep eating them?” Ingrid asked, putting the bird in the oven and shutting it with more force than truly needed.

“By makin’ more.” Max smirked as he mixed his noodles. His lasagna had been made ages ago because it had to cook in the oven but since he had cheese, something that hadn’t been accessible before him and his nettle rennet, Brigitte had requested some mac and cheese. Max was currently trying to wrangle the old kitchenaid mixer attachment into producing macaroni.

“Don't worry about having enough,” Naomí laughed. “Jesse and his father would steal at least a dozen a piece and hide in the barn with them. I'm used to making enough that sticky fingers won't be a problem.”

Jesse had also disappeared at some point during the conversation it seemed, and his muffled voice suggested he'd gone to help Hanzo with setting the table.

Max finally got too frustrated with the mixer and shoved it out of his way, back to the darkest portion of beneath the counter from whence it came. “Forgettaboutit,” He mumbled, looking around the kitchen until he located an old bamboo chopstick and rolled up his sleeves so he could make them the old fashioned way.   
  
“Are you having trouble?” Ingrid asked timidly. Max had become well known for his explosive anger when pasta didn’t quite go his way, so she wasn’t sure how bad this particular instance was.

“I’m fine,” Max scoffed as he cut it into little bits and began to roll them around the chopstick two at a time. “It’s just that yer daughter isn’t gonna be getting the pretty, curly macaronis. She’ll have to suffer with the authentic shit.”

“I think she'll be okay,” Genji chuckled. “I mean, you're making her fresh macaroni! What's not to love?”

“Flattery,” Max laughed, squinting at the counter before plucking up a dark cutting board to make the contrast between the light dough and everything else easier to see. He was legally blind but colors and contrast still existed for him. “Flattery 'll get youse _everywhere.”_

“I try.” Genji laughed back. “It's never steered me wrong before.”

Max laughed and took a couple of his newly formed macaroni and dropped them into the pot of salted water. He wanted to see how they'd cook. “I mean, I'm not about to stop youse.”

Ingrid wasn't sure if she liked the fact that the two most mischievous boys on base did nothing but flirt with each other. That sounded like a recipe for disaster.

“Well that's good,” Genji laughed, “If I don't compliment someone at least once an hour I will wither away.” He put the back of his hand to his forehead, “And I can't bear the thought of making Jesse's ego any bigger or admitting Hanzo is better than me. I think I'd die.”

“Oh my God,” Max barked out, shaking his head as he strode across the kitchen to give Genji a solid tug for his ridiculous theatrics. “You're stupid 'n I love youse.” He grinned, giving Genji another shake for good measure before returning to his test pot.

“Well someone has to be, I mean… my brother's stupid too but not in a good way.”

Max snorted through his nose, fishing the pasta out with a little help from Ingrid before eating one. He thought it was good, since it would have to be a little on the al dente side or it would be much when they added the melted cheese sauce… “Genji!” Max called, putting one of the pastas between his fingers. “Come try the macaroni!” He then put it between his lips and gave it a wiggle.

Genji practically pranced on over to Max to take it from him, teasing Max by taking the pasta with his teeth. “I think we're supposed to use spaghetti…” He winked as he chewed on the macaroni happily.

“You know,” Max smirked and chewed on his portion without giving much away. He never did. “I can make spaghetti if that's what it takes t’ get youse to throw me a bone.”

Genji shrugged, “I mean, you could have just said so… I don't need food to want to kiss a pretty boy.” He winked.

Ingrid groaned over where she was working on a pie. “Will you both just get out of my kitchen?”

“Mm,” Max laughed and shook his head. “I guess that means I need t’ getta rain check, _bello._ I gotta finish my pasta 'n youse is spookin’ the old birds.” Max winked at him before returning to rolling out his macaroni.

Genji let out a disappointed noise and then sulked out of the kitchen.

Their resident Italian went back to busying himself with the pasta while he hummed under his breath. _"Let me call you sweetheart,"_ He stopped himself.

Ana bumped Naomí conspiratorially. “Do you think something is going on there?” Ana was a fiend for gossip, particularly of this kind. The fact that Max had only been there for a month was troubling her, however.

Naomí shrugged with a shake of her head. “I don't know, it's hard to tell. I don't think so yet?”

“You don't think he's playing with Genji, do you?” Ana was suspicious of anyone who got that physical that quickly. Though, if she thought about it, Max just gave him plenty of opportunities to take something and let Genji do what he wanted. She didn't know what to think.

“I don't think so.” Naomí said again, but she sounded unsure of herself. “I think they might just be very… touchy-feely.”

“I can hear youse.” Max said from his workstation, finishing the last of the pasta and began to cut them in half. They might not be curled, but at least they'd be the right size. “Don't you have anything betta’ t’ talk about?”

Ana at least managed to look ashamed of herself.

“Genji, far as I can tell, is a grown ass man. If youse's got a problem with the way we grown ass men conduct ourselves, youse can just keep it to yerself 'cause it don't _concern_ you.” He huffed, pouring the pasta into the water. If it weren't for the food, he would have just left but his lasagna was more important than some bird with a bug up her butt 'bout things she know nothin’ about.

Naomí sighed. She couldn't blame him for being upset. “I'm sorry, Max. You're right.” Given everyone else's track record around there, especially her own son where it was nearly impossible to tell if he and Hanzo were ever going to go anywhere with their affections, Genji and Max were moving almost lightning fast.

The man sniffed and stirred his pasta to keep it from sticking. “Just because _some_ people are waiting till they're dead, don't mean I can't enjoy myself. The world ended years ago.” So as far as he cared, it was high time to at least find somebody to flirt with. “If he's willing t’ flirt wit a cripple, I'm willing t’ take the attention. Try not to mess this shit up fer me.” Max didn't have a very high opinion of himself.

Naomí frowned, if only because some of it sounded all too familiar and unfortunately, there was no real way to help someone with self-worth problems as a maternal figure. Everything always ended up sounding like a mother telling her kid that they were this or that to _her_ and usually didn't help. She passed a glance to Ana and then went back to dishing out dough onto a baking pan for the next round of cookies.

Ana just shrugged and got back to working on her own dessert.

Outside, back out with the non-cooks of the group, Hanzo was setting the table dutifully as asked while he watched Brigitte try to balance a gourd on top of her head. These weren’t, apparently, edible. He would never understand why they would grow plants that weren’t for food but the tiny pumpkins and other kinds of gourds were actually to decorate the table with. He huffed and continued to place mismatched silverware on the table over the carefully pressed red tablecloth. 

“Genji!” He chuckled as he saw his brother come pouting out of the kitchen. “Did you get kicked out again?”

“No.” Genji huffed, “Of course not! They love me too much.”

“Right, 'course.” Jesse chuckled, “I'm sure my ma's a huge fan what with yer cookie stealin’.”

“Hey! I got you cookies that you couldn't get yourself.”

“I could've, but lettin’ the ninja do it is a lot easier.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes and huffed, ever so slightly tilting one of the forks so it was perfectly straight beside the knife. “So you got kicked out of the kitchen.”

“I didn't get kicked out!”

“Ya got kicked out.”

“Stop siding with him!” Genji groaned.

“Nah.” Jesse grinned as he held out another handful of silverware to Hanzo, “If yer my lil brother now, I'm legally required to disagree with you on everything.”

His reward came in the form of a small smile on Hanzo’s face and a shy glance back as he took the silverware. He didn’t deny it.

“Ugh, you two are completely insufferable. I take back my blessing for you two to get together. One Hanzo was plenty and now there's two.”

“Sorry, darlin’ no take backs.” Well, none from Genji. Jesse still sometimes found himself wondering when the dream would end or if Hanzo would wise up and figure out that he was literally nothing special.

“You never did tell me why you got kicked out of the kitchen. I’m not letting it go, not when you came out looking like that.” Hanzo asked, smirking as he looked back over his shoulder at Genji. “What’d you do? Flirt too much?” Cookies didn’t seem like enough of a reason to get kicked out.

“Probably.” Jesse chuckled, and at the rude gesture he received for it, his grin only spread. “Yeah, he was totally flirtin’ too much. Bet it was Ms. Amari.”

“Ingrid.” Genji grumbled, hoping that the two would drop the subject.

“Wo-ow,” Hanzo was actually surprised by that. She was usually the most relaxed of the women in the kitchen. “I’m impressed. It takes special skill to manage to piss her off.” Once the table was set, Hanzo put the rest of the odds and ends on the table in what he hoped looked like a centerpiece. This wasn’t exactly his bag.

Genji waved them off. “I don't get why they're so concerned about it. Too slow and they all get concerned and butt in,” he gestured at Hanzo and Jesse, “Too 'fast’ and they get concerned and butt in.”

“They're moms, they can't help it.” Jesse shrugged, even though he knew the frustration too.

“‘Too fast’?” Hanzo parroted, turning around with both his eyebrows raised before frowning at his younger brother. “What did you do?”

“It's a long story. He wanted a kiss and Ingrid got all huffy about it.” Genji grumbled softly. “It’s not like I was trying to make out with him or anything! We didn't even kiss…”

“He wanted a--” Hanzo cut himself off before he could say anything he might regret. As far as he knew, they weren’t even a _thing_ and yet apparently Max was requesting kisses from his brother. Not only that, Genji was _obliging_ him. “Did I miss something somewhere?”

“Did I?” Brigitte chirped, having been listening in to the whole conversation. Her head popped over the back of the couch she’d been laying on and grinned at the three of them. “Because I want to know all the juicy details.”

Genji made a face at his brother as apparently, Hanzo agreed with Ingrid… or something. He couldn't quite tell what that face was about but he knew it was disapproving. So what if he found Max cute? So what if they had become fast friends and Max wanted a few kisses? “Why is it even your business? I finally get a chance to have a relationship where the clan can't butt in and make someone disappear and now you're on my ass about it.”

“I don’t even care--” Hanzo bit his lower lip and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. “I don’t _care_ who you decide to like, Genji, I just thought you’d give me a little bit more warning. ‘Oh hey, by the way, I’m going to kiss this boy.’ That’s all it takes.” He frowned heavily and shook his head. “But I guess you’re right. It _isn’t_ any of my business. Who am _I?”_ He’d told Genji all kinds of shit about Jesse before it’d ever happened, this hardly seemed fair. At this point, the older sibling was just licking his wounds as he turned back around to fuss with the center arrangement again.

“Right, because you--” He bit his tongue to avoid spilling that Hanzo had gushed about Jesse all the time and avoid hurting Jesse's feelings with any mentions of Hanzo adamantly denying things everyone could see kilometers away, “Because it's not like whenever I tried to talk to _you_ about this kind of stuff, you _totally_ didn't shut me out.” Hanzo had paid attention when it was _his_ relationships but if Genji mentioned Hanzo's, he got stubborn and usually denied everything. “That _totally_ didn't happen. _So sorry_ I didn't warn you about something that hit me out of the blue too.”

Hanzo opened his mouth to reply before snapping it shut and looking away again. Genji was right about him, but he’d always been like that. Genji, on the other hand, had always bragged about what was going on with him. It just seemed different this time. Ever since Max had shown up, it felt like his best friend was slipping away.

“You’re right.” He mumbled softly, trying not to let the way his breathing hitched around the emotion show. He didn’t want to say this in English but Genji deserved to hear it in the public forum that all this had been aired out in. Genji deserved an apology that everyone could understand. “I’m sorry, Genji.. I don’t have the right to speak to you about this.” The older bowed at the waist before turning and abandoning the utensils so he could go out to the barn. He had to get out of here for a while.

Jesse shot Genji a dirty look that all but promised that Jesse _was_ going to talk to him about this later before hurrying off after Hanzo.

Genji groaned and flipped around on his heel to head to his room. He hadn't really _meant_ to lash out at Hanzo, but Brigitte trying to stick her nose into every relationship besides the one she _should_ be focusing on combined with Hanzo's disapproval? It had tipped his frustration over into anger. He scrubbed his face with his hands as he walked, making an aggravated noise. He didn't even know what him and Max were! There wasn't anything to warn Hanzo about because _he_ hadn't even known! He just wanted everyone to back up and let him figure this out. He'd already seen what too many nosy people could do to a relationship and he had no intentions of ending up like Hanzo and Jesse.

By the time Jesse had caught up with Hanzo, after realizing that Hanzo hadn't gone to their room, and looked everywhere he thought the archer might go, he was already crying. Only the slightest of sniffles warned Jesse that Hanzo was in Yuki's stall, but he hadn't prepared for how bad it was. He gently rapped his knuckles on the stall door, “Hanzo? Darlin’? Can I come in?”

Hanzo had backed himself up to the corner closest to the door so that when someone walked in front of the stall he could just hold his breath and keep still and they wouldn’t see him. Against the back wall and it’d be much easier to see where he was hiding. When Jesse walked closer, he sucked in his breath and held it to try and keep it together. Jesse shouldn’t see him like this… but he wanted to come in and Hanzo needed him there. Surely Jesse could tell what was going on? He rubbed his face on the sleeve of his shirt, nodding before realizing that Jesse probably wasn’t looking in. “Y-yes.”

Jesse opened the door just enough to slip inside and then closed it and went to go cuddle Hanzo. Hanzo always seemed to want to cuddle when he felt down. He settled on the ground beside Hanzo and reached out to wrap an arm around the archer's shoulders so he could pull him close.

 _“Onegai--”_ Hanzo scoot further from him as he put both arms between himself and Jesse and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, please don’t-- I’m sorry, I can’t, please--” Touching was _too much_ right now. “Just… sit. Please.”

“I-- uh...” Jesse didn't understand why Hanzo suddenly didn't want to cuddle. He always wanted to cuddle. Had he done something wrong? Did he mess up somewhere? His brows furrowed and he leaned back against the wall of the stall. “Okay.”  


The archer curled up tighter and held both of his hands over his head while he let the soft gasps and huffs of air out. He was a quiet sobber, keeping it as tightly reined in as he did with everything else. “I’m sorry--” He whimpered through a particularly hard sob, wondering if Jesse hated him too now. “I just can’t… it’s so hard to be touched. It’s so much. Too much. Can’t.”

Jesse frowned as Hanzo quietly sobbed and his heart broke a little for it. His brows furrowed further as Hanzo explained or at least tried, and then relaxed a little. “It's okay darlin’,” he reassured softly, “I just-- ya always seemed to wanna cuddle and so I… thought maybe I'd done somethin’ wrong. But I kinda understand, I mean, not exactly of ‘course cause ya know I'm real cuddly but it's good t’ know at least?” His shoulders relaxed more. He wished he could help, but the only way he knew how was snuggling Hanzo better and that… wasn't a viable option right now.

Hanzo just shook his head and tried to breathe through the waves of panic and nausea. “I can’t do this without him,” He admitted softly, looking up and rubbing his face again. “I don’t know how to do anything without Genji. I--” He swallowed and a wave of pain was visible in how his entire face screwed up and a choked sob made it through the barrier meant to keep it quiet. “I-- _otouto--”_ He had always thought that Genji was as close to _him_ as he was to _Genji._ That had been rocked when Max showed up and Genji almost fell off the face of the earth to take care of him. “We’ve never fought before. Not really. Nothing that mattered.” They’d never disagreed enough to have anything really matter. Survival always took precedence. They stayed close, thought as two halves of one brain. Something like this couldn’t happen in a circumstance like that.

Jesse sighed, “I-- I don't know what was goin’ on with him. Maybe talk to him after y'all have cooled off a little?” Jesse didn't know what else to suggest. He personally thought that Genji was acting like a selfish, spiteful brat but he'd keep that to himself for now. Genji better hope Hanzo talked to him before Jesse did.

“I--” For once, Hanzo didn’t know what he’d even say to Genji. He’d never been afraid to just tell his younger brother what he was thinking before. He’d never gotten yelled at for saying his opinion before, either. Suddenly that constant fear of not understanding the people around him applied to Genji too and he was left with no one he knew how to talk to. It might seem small to anyone else, but to Hanzo his world was caving in. “I don’t know anymore.”

Jesse sighed a little and fell quiet, unsure what to say. He was angry at Genji for being a brat and hurting Hanzo like this, but also hurt for Hanzo and wished he could do _something_. There was nothing he knew how to do that wouldn't upset Hanzo further or overwhelm him. He cast a glance at Hanzo and placed his hand in the space between them. An offer, but not an expectation.

He didn’t take it at first, still trying to overcome the sudden sense of panic that had come over him. Crying took a while, always did, but he was working through it faster with Jesse there too. At first, it was just a few fingers, holding them in his own and feeling that. When those fingers were no longer too much, he wrapped his arm through Jesse’s and sat there like that with his head against the back wall of the stall. “Jesse--” Hanzo turned to talk to the man he’d started to call _his man_ in his head and smiled. The cowboy had nodded off beside him. Hanzo sighed, lifting the arm he’d been resting on and pulling it over his shoulders so he could wrap his arms around Jesse’s waist. Maybe a nap would help, he could surely use one after all this.

There was a sharp inhale as Jesse woke again to Hanzo wiggling in closer to him. His lips turned up in a lazy smile and he leaned over to kiss the top of Hanzo's head. “Hey darlin’.” The close-lipped smile spread to a toothy grin as his eyes turned up in a fond expression. “Feelin’ any better?”

“Mmmhmm,” Hanzo hummed, pushing on Jesse to force the cowboy back on the pile of hay rather than sitting up. “Thank you.” It was so much easier to cuddle with Jesse when he was laying down. “I appreciate that you stayed here with me.” More than he could even put to words. Jesse staying here meant the world to him.

Jesse's eyebrows rose as Hanzo pushed him back and then whatever thought had flickered through his mind was replaced by the actual situation at hand. He wiggled to get comfortable then pulled Hanzo in close and held him tight, like he always did. “I couldn't leave ya like that darlin’. You're always there for me when I break down…” He peppered kisses across any part of Hanzo he could reach, “You're always so good to me, sweetpea. I didn't know what to do t’ help, but I couldn't just _leave._ ”

“Jesse,” Hanzo moved around so he was resting on Jesse’s chest, looking him in the eye. He knew that with the puffy eyes and snotty nose from crying, he wasn’t attractive but what better time to ask this question than when he was at his lowest point. “Are you _my_ man?”

“If it means that I'm yours, absolutely, darlin’.” Jesse's smile seemed like it was threatening to split his face in half and he brushed his nose against Hanzo's.

Hanzo laughed, rubbing his nose to rid himself of the tickling sensation before leaning up and kissing the tip of Jesse’s. “Then I am also yours.”

Jesse wanted to whoop for joy but the noise caught in throat and came out as an overjoyed and breathy laugh. His eyes watered as all the emotions caught up and he closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against Hanzo's. “Ya don't know how good it feels t’ hear ya say that.” He sniffled through a chuckle, “Shit, I dunno what to do with myself now.”

“Kiss me.” Hanzo laughed, taking him by the jaw. “Kiss me you silly man, that’s what you do when someone says they care about you.”

There was a gentle snort at the words before Jesse obliged _his baby._ The mere thought made him giddy and he barely got through the kiss without smiling like an idiot. Sort of. If you asked _him_ , he wasn't grinning like a lovestruck fool, but he absolutely was.

“Jesse,” Hanzo seemed to be working through a checklist as he pulled back from the kiss to pet Jesse’s hair. “Jack told me to make sure you know that I l--” His lips twisted, “I love you. It’s hard for me because it’s not… something we really say but you’ve been my close friend and I wanted you to know. Now you are more than a friend, it is even more important.” Jack said it was important to Americans to say it but it still felt odd.

“I love ya too, sweetheart.” Jesse was _definitely_ grinning like an idiot now. “But, ya don't have t’ worry 'bout sayin’ it if it's… weird for ya. Jack kinda explained it to me when we went fishin’ and got talkin’ about my arm.” He kissed Hanzo again, smile fading down to a fond, gentle smile, “It's nice t’ hear, but I know that's not how you were raised.” Hanzo did more than enough to show it, “And I'm more'n okay with that.”

“It’s important that you _know._ Don’t doubt it. Ever, even if I get angry.” Hanzo was very adamant about it, even as he accepted the kisses and decided to see what all that beautiful chestnut hair felt like in his fingers. “Just remember that I do what I do because of it.”

Jesse's eyes closed as Hanzo tangled his fingers up in his hair, taking a deep breath and sighing out happily but then the smile faded a little and he opened his eyes to look into Hanzo's. “I… Hanzo, I have to be real with you. If I ever seem like I doubt, if I ever seem like I worry that I've gone and really fucked everythin’ up when you get mad at me…”

A sad expression crossed his face, “It ain't you and it'll never be that you made me feel like ya didn't love me. I… I got a lot of things I don't talk about. Lot of issues with myself but I just want ya t’ know that it's not your fault and I probably just got somethin’ nasty in my ear twistin’ words up.” He hated ruining the moment with something like this, but he couldn't let the doubt plague Hanzo because he didn't say it.

Hanzo’s lips also twisted into something sour, but it wasn’t unhappiness with Jesse. He hated that he didn’t know what to say to make it better. Instead he just scooted closer and pulled the man into a kiss to try and show the emotion he didn’t know how to express. “I understand.”

“That's all I need,” Jesse murmured into the kiss, “Jus’ need ya t’ understand.” His arms tightened around Hanzo as he kissed him properly this time, “All I want is someone t’ say they understand and sometimes tell me those nasty little things are wrong.”

“They’re wrong.” Hanzo smiled cheekily, leaning in to brush their noses together. “It’s all lies. I care about you, I’m not planning on leaving you, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted--” He thought about it for a second, “Is this anywhere close?”

Jesse chuckled through another sniffle as his emotions overwhelmed him again, nodding and then burying his face against Hanzo's shoulder. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, so he just clung to Hanzo and kinda did both.

“Shh,” Hanzo kissed his hair as he held onto Jesse and rocked them both. It seemed there would be tears on both sides today. The joy of finally knowing what they were had managed to push the pain away, at least for now. Now if only he could muster up the courage to perform a bit of PDA where those nosy old bats could see it.

Jesse was quiet for a long moment, scratching Hanzo's back lightly to focus his restless thoughts. “Y'know…” He started, and the furrowed his brow, “Y'know it was always that ya… never expected me to be anything or anyone but myself. That's the reason I fell in love with ya. I didn't have to try. If I didn't want to talk, you didn't expect me to. If I wanted to talk, you always seemed happy to pay attention, never told me I talked too much… well, okay _once_. But, that was different…”

“I wasn’t being serious that time--” Hanzo quickly moved to defend himself before picking up that it wasn’t a serious accusation. “Oh. That’s a joke.” The archer blushed darkly, hiding behind his bangs.

“I just want to see you be happy and… sometimes you seem happiest when you can just sit and not say anything. I fell… for you because you didn’t think less of me when my words got garbled up or when I didn’t know what to say. I liked that I could talk to you about things I read and you didn’t get angry at me for it. You just knew that I wanted to share the information with you, not make you feel stupid with it. That’s… when it happened for me.”

“I can tell when people want to make me feel stupid. Got… really used to it, actually. I never got to finish school. I was I dunno, eleven or so when my pops died and we moved to Arizona. I… got pretty damn hateful and--”

He paused. Everyone knew he'd been _in_ Deadlock, but not that he'd been one of the ones to _start_ it. Of the group, he figured only those who had read his journal and maybe Jack knew. His mouth pulled to one side. No secrets. “I got myself in a lot of trouble. There was a girl that I ran with--” _'Spit it out.’_ “We started Deadlock for… varying reasons. I told myself it was so omnics couldn't take some other kid's dad from 'em but well, let's be real. We were just thieves and murderers who profited on everyone else's misfortune and need for safety.” He hoped that the new information wouldn't scare Hanzo off. There was a big difference between joining a gang young and _starting_ one.

“Jesse, I’m a ninja.” Hanzo commented, still laying on his chest as he watched the other talk. He had absorbed most of that and the only part that really struck him was that something about starting a gang had been hard for Jesse to say. What did he expect Hanzo to do? Hate him for it? He was a _ninja._ He killed people, he’d killed a _lot_ of people, and had been trained to do a lot worse. They were on an even playing field, if he really thought about it.

Jesse chuckled, “That's fair.” He relaxed a little. Just one more thing he loved about Hanzo. The archer didn't judge him for things he did when he was young and infinitely more stupid. That thought made him suddenly remember that they'd had been talking about how Hanzo never made him feel stupid, and he snapped back to that. “But, what I meant to say before I got to rambling is that I’ve met a lot of people who thought I was an idiot for whatever reason, but none of the folks that ever tried to make me feel stupid were _passionate_ about what they were talkin’ about. They were _surprised_ that sometimes, I could engage them and occasionally, knew more than they did. You were never surprised,” He smiled fondly, “Just excited.”

“I didn’t get to finish school either,” Hanzo smiled, “We are the same age. I only know what I read in books or learn from other people. I’m always happy to learn what you know.” His smiles had gone from the polite bare quirk of the lips when they had first met to a smile wide enough his eyes smiled too. “You always have something new to tell me that I didn’t know before. Who am I to judge how you learned it?”

“I…” Jesse tilted his head, “I'd have never guessed we were--” The idea seemed to confuse him, “Yer so mature and intelligent, I swore ya had a couple years on me. Not that ya look-- ya look great, I mean-- I'm gonna shut up before my foot goes any further down my throat.”

“Shh,” Hanzo chuckled, reaching up and placing a finger across his lips before leaning in and kissing over the stubble on his cheek. “I understand.” He murmured, yawning widely before laying his head back down on Jesse’s chest. All that crying took a lot out of him.

“Good.” Jesse smiled, “I didn't want to offend ya. Yer the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on, darlin’.” He wrapped his arms around Hanzo and tucked his chin down to kiss the top of Hanzo's head again.

“Goodnight, silly man.” Hanzo chuckled as he closed his eyes and listened to the beating of Jesse’s heart beneath his ear. Every night since giving up his bed to Max, that had been what Hanzo liked to do to fall asleep and it seemed that now was no different.

“Sleep well, sweetpea.” Jesse murmured fondly as he stroked Hanzo's hair. ‘ _God, he's so perfect. I'm gonna marry this man._

Jesse continued to pet Hanzo's hair and kiss his head until he drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just started a new job so I forgot to upload the new chapter guys, sorry o/ -Cross


	15. Chapter 15

Even though Genji had almost no appetite to speak of and he had to drag himself to dinner, he did. He trudged into the room and quietly lingered until the food was set out. 

Honestly, he came only because he knew how much work everyone, but especially Max, had put into the meal. He was there mostly for Max, because part of him was excited to try the lasagna that he'd helped gather the ingredients for over the better part of the week. He'd eat the other food of course, because he didn't want to be rude, nor did he want to invite the wrath of Ingrid upon himself. If he wanted burnt food for the next month he'd cook it himself.

“Where are the other two?” Ingrid asked, worrying her hands in front of her as she checked the clock again. They’d all agreed on 1600 and yet, it was going on 1620 and they still weren’t here.

Jack had seated himself at the head of the table and was already dishing into the ham Jesse’d provided. He liked ham and he was glad they’d gotten one. “Dunno.” He shrugged, “I’m gonna say grace and they can get here when they get here.”

Max groaned, rolling his eyes. Jack didn’t pray over the meal too often, a side effect of his upbringing being in the face of his orientation, but when he did it was ridiculous. Jack launched into a barely mumbled blessing over all the food, the hands that made it, yadda yadda and Max eventually kicked him under the table to get him to finish it up. “Amen.”

“Amen.” Max repeated, already going after a piece of the baklava, only to have his fingers swatted by Ana. 

_ “After _ you eat real food, Habibi.” She scolded, pushing it further away.

Genji dished out a helping of lasagna, hoping that because the cheese had been made from goat's milk that it wouldn't make him feel any worse than he already did. He hoped Hanzo was okay. He really hadn't meant to yell at him.

He also dished out small portions of anything he knew had taken an obscene amount of time. A little chicken, some of Naomí's enchiladas, the baklava would have to wait until Ana wasn't going to swat his hands for just trying to get what food he was going to eat onto his plate.

Brigitte had already piled a huge mountain of Max’s mac ‘n cheese onto her plate, cooing delightedly as she took a bite. That’d been all for her and Max smiled to hear her enjoying herself. As for him? He ate lasagna. At least, for the first plate. Max was on his second plate, filling it up with meats and side dishes when he realized that Genji was barely eating anything. 

_ “Cos’hai?” _ Max questioned, nudging Genji’s side. He had placed himself beside the man who had become his eyes and ears for simplicity’s sake. “What’sa matter?”

“Got in a big fight with my brother…” Genji mumbled low enough that he figured the rest of the table wouldn't hear, “I think that's why he isn't here. He was really upset. I didn't  _ mean _ it, I was just--” Frustrated. Overwhelmed. Worried. “Everyone seems to want to make everyone else's relationships their business and I… snapped at Hanzo when Brigitte pushed for information I didn't-- that I still don't have.”

He shoved another mouthful of lasagna in his mouth, “I...don't really have much of an appetite, so I'm sorry if I don't finish this. It's delicious and I'm so glad you made it.” He almost wanted to cry again. He'd already done that and made an attempt to look like he hadn't been. He didn't want Max to be upset, or think he didn't like the food because that couldn't have been further from the truth.

Max reached out and slyly took the rest of his lasagna and plopped it onto his own plate. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll keep.” He reached out to gently rub his hand over Genji’s back before getting back to the food. It didn’t seem like Genji to fight with Hanzo, from what he could tell they were joined at the hip and shared a brain. “I’mma take this whole hunched over nonsense as youse not talkin’ to him yet?”

“More like he's not talking to me.” Genji sighed and then munched slowly on one of the enchiladas so that he didn't offend Naomí. The chicken was already gone, a slice was easy to get down without putting much of a dent in his meager appetite. The lasagna and enchiladas on the other hand, were starchy and somewhat heavy. At least he didn't have to force down ham too to avoid offending Jesse. He'd already gotten that covered with yelling at Hanzo.

As the meal wore on, it became more and more painfully obviously that Jesse and Hanzo were not going to show at all. Naomí seemed worried too, watching the doors and commenting that it wasn't like Jesse to miss a meal.

“They’re not hurting for food,” Jack commented back to Naomí, finishing his second plate and deciding that it was time for pie. This time when Max went for the baklava, Ana didn’t stop him. “They’ll eat when they eat.”

Hanzo had been so excited for Thanksgiving, it’s all he’d talked about the entire week leading up to it and Genji had ruined it.

As he shoved the last bit of picked apart enchilada in his mouth, he frowned and mumbled a quick, “Excuse me,” before taking his plate to the sink and rinsing it off. He needed out of there. He'd messed everything up and he just needed away from everyone.

Jack sighed as he watched Genji walk out and stood up himself. “I’ll be right back.” The man murmured, looking to Gabe before walking toward the barracks. Genji wasn’t usually the melancholy sibling, that was Hanzo, so he assumed that something had to have caused this. So he walked after Genji, catching up just in time to slide his foot between the door and the jam before it could shut. “Hey, kiddo. What’s going on?”

_ ‘Damn it.’ _ Genji sighed as he looked up at Jack, “I had a fight with Hanzo. That's why he and Jesse weren't at dinner.” He didn't want to talk about it, but he hoped that because it was Jack, the conversation wouldn't wear on very long.

“You probably want to be alone then,” Jack pursed his lips, nodding to himself as he thought it through. “I just wanted to make sure you were as ok as you could be… make sure you knew we were here if you needed anything.”

“Kinda, yeah.”  _ ‘Oh my god, thank you.’  _ Genji slunk over to his bed and flopped face down, “Thanks.” He'd rather them  _ not _ try to get any further in his business but Jack wasn't the problem and, much like Hanzo, didn't deserve to get an earful because Brigitte was too nosy for her own good.

“Have a good night, kiddo.” Jack offered him a small smile that he hoped was warm, though it ended up more tight than anything else. The man shut the door behind him and then frowned as he stood there. If Genji was this upset, that meant that Hanzo would be even more upset. Genji was the sturdier of the siblings, at least when it came to confrontation. He moved to Jesse’s room and, upon finding it empty, began to scour the base for the missing pair. 

When he did find them, in the barn of all things, Jack smiled and realized Jesse had been out here trying to soothe Hanzo’s feelings in the middle of November without so much as a jacket. Jack jogged over to his workshop and retrieved a large quilt so he could lay it over the pair of them. That straw wouldn’t be comfortable, but at least they’d be warm.  Speaking of warm, the sun was almost completely set and Kaspar hadn’t been brought in--neither had Yuki. Jack frowned at that, going out to the pasture and whistling sharply for the horses to come in.

Jesse stirred slightly at the quilt and then again at the whistle, actually waking for the latter and pulling the quilt so that he and Hanzo were wrapped up in it and protected from the itchy straw.  The horses were coming in, if the sound of hooves on the concrete of the garage center aisle was any indication. At some point, he and Jack had come out here with sledgehammers to break up the concrete in the stalls so that they could lay dirt and soft bedding for the horses but that had been so long ago that it was almost impossible to tell the floors had ever been anything but.

It sounded like Yuki was being as big of a pain to Jack as he always was and Jesse considered getting up to help but the siren call of sleep while wrapped up next to Hanzo was too much. He was back asleep in a moment, arms tight around Hanzo.

The next time they woke up wasn’t from Jack bringing in the horses, though he’d put Yuki in the stall on the end that they weren’t using right now so that the pissy stallion wouldn’t trample the sleeping men. Hanzo jerked away to the sound of a shotgun going off outside, bleary and confused.  _ “Nani ga--” _ He shook his head, sitting up as he rubbed his eyes. “What’s going on?”

Jesse had similarly startled awake and rubbed his eyes before another shot had him tensing up. “We need to get back to our room. I think--” Another shot. “Scratch that. We're  _ definitely _ under attack.”

Hanzo scrambled to his feet, shivering at the night air and looking around to try and figure out what was going on. Yuki was in the back stall rearing up on his hind legs with wild eyes and the shrieking sound of zombies outside seemed to be coming from  _ everywhere. _

“Boys?!” Jack had run into the barn, holding his pulse rifle in his hands. “We need you guys up and attem! They’ve completely overrun the south fence!”

“‘Overrun’?!” Hanzo parroted back as he jogged to catch up to Jack. “What does that mean?”

“It’s on the ground. They knocked it down. They’re coming after the inside fence now, I’ve never seen so many at once.” Jack grit his teeth and fired on a few of the fast ones that had climbed further in so that they wouldn’t make it as far as the barn door.

“Shit.” Jesse shivered as flickers of being surrounded and herded into an ambush flashed through his head. He let out a shaky breath. No. Keep it together. “I need to get inside to my explosives! I might be able to start a big enough fire on the outer ring to dent their numbers… or give us a barrier they can't outsmart.”

“What  _ exactly _ are you planning to light on fire?” Jack asked, keeping both of them close behind him so he could escort them to the main barracks. “The fence is in shambles. They--” Another loud creaking as a second portion of the fence fell to the ground. It was visible from here at the base. “I’ve already got the women packing. You should pack too. We have to take whatever we can get our hands on and  _ go.” _

“I can get those bombs over the inner wall, the grass is dead and dry as hell! It'll go up quick. We  _ have  _ to drop those numbers or that truck is gonna ram them and get something stuck and we're  _ dead  _ if that happens. I've  _ watched _ them group up to stop a truck and they pulled that driver out and fuckin’ ate him.”

Jack looked between them and then nodded, “I’ll go with you to the armory. Hanzo, can you pack for the two of you?”

_ “Hai, _ I can do it. I’ll be done quickly and come back to help you.”

“Hey,” Jesse put his hand of Hanzo's shoulder. “Couple things I need ya to grab for me, don't care what else ya pack but the gun on the wall and the hat are sentimental, there's a bag in the closet next to my journal box. Those four things are all I care about that's in our room, can probably shove everything in the box, honestly.”

He nodded and ran for the inside of the barracks where Ana was already trying to pack up Jack and Gabe’s things. Both of them were outside fighting. 

“Alright, let's see if we can get a blaze goin’.” He flashed an uneasy grin at Jack.

“For both our sakes, I hope this works.” Jack returned, picking up to actually run for the armory where all their explosives would be. They were running out of time. “I’ve got the girls prepping the trucks, I just hope we have enough biodiesel to make it to wherever we have to go. Ana is convinced--” He threw open a nearby crate and pulled out a helix rocket launcher that he’d been saving for a rainy day. “--She’s convinced that if we go to Houston, we can fix all this. These zombies just made that the easiest ‘yes’ I’ve ever said.”

Jesse gave a nervous chuckle. “Well, at least on the move, maybe I can find us more stuff. There’s military bases all through New Mexico and Texas.” He didn't know how much diesel it'd take to get to Houston, but now he regretted using up that bit earlier in the year. What if that was what it took and it stranded them in the middle of nowhere? Texas was huge and outside of the major cities, it was empty for literally hundreds of miles. He pulled open one of the ammo boxes that he'd packed the bombs that were supposed to mimic incendiary explosives. He'd actually made them to create a controlled burn in case of a wildfire, but this was also a good reason to use them.

“There’s also bandits,” Jack pointed out, attaching the launcher to the bottom of his rifle as he pursed his lips. “I think as long as we hit enough greasy spoons, we can keep making biodiesel. Brigitte is bringing the supplies we need to convert it over.” Ingrid was currently using a specialized dolly to move the horse trailer into place. “We’ll lock it all up, just in case we can come back. We’ve put a lot of work into this and if Ana’s right, we might be able to come back.”

“There's… also bandits,” Jesse parroted back with a sigh. “Depending on who they are though, I might be able to weasel us out of dealing with them.” He shrugged as he pulled a bag out and started shoving explosives inside. “Old gang tattoos come in handy sometimes.” He could hear the zombies outside and it had his hands shaking. If this failed, it wouldn't just be him paying for it. He glanced around, licking his lips nervously as he searched for anything else that he could use. More specifically, a gun would make him feel better.

“Jesse,” Jack had gone back to digging around in that box again. It wasn’t too often that he got out here but Jack kept things that no one else were allowed to touch in this particular crate. He reached in and grabbed a box of ammunition that he kept in the back and opened it up, holding up a six-shooter speed loader. “I found this before we found you and I’ve been waiting for a good time to give it to you. It’s not much, probably only 60 rounds.” He put the loader back inside and latched it up, handing it to Jesse. “But it’s Peacekeeper ammo… and more importantly, it’s yours.”

Jesse's eyes lit up as he took the ammunition from Jack with a fond smile, “Thanks, old man. You say it's not much, but I can do a lot of damage with 60 bullets.” His eye had started prickling earlier, but now it was that annoying throb he'd learned to ignore early in life. “If this fire doesn't work as well as I hope, I might be able to drop enough to get the trucks through.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Jack knew all about needing a very particular kind of ammunition--and about eyes that could see and track like no one else could. “Let’s get moving, kid. We’ve got a front door to protect.” He turned and walked out the entrance of the armory, looking back just in time to see Brigitte starting up the dually truck and pulling it out so that it would be easier to load the horses up. That old Ford had been the find of the century when he’d located it years back, now it was the only thing that could haul their 4-horse trailer with living quarters. “We’ve got to protect them!”

“You keep an eye on them.” Jesse gestured at himself, “I don't have a gun on me, and setting these off inside ain't gonna do us any good.” He frowned, “I'll send Jefe your way if I catch 'im while I'm setting up this fire.”

Jack nodded, “I’ll send Hanzo out with your gun when he gets here.” Which seemed as good a plan as any. 

Jesse flashed him a thumbs up and headed for the walls at a run, lighting the first bomb as he got close and hurling it over the wall. It sailed over and the sudden explosion of light on the other side and told him that it had at least caught  _ something _ . 

Four bombs in, he found Reyes watching a weak point in the inner wall. Jesse didn't even remember what had happened to it. Probably raiders. Man, he wished they could go back to when their only problems were raiders. “Hey, Jefe! Jack needs you up front! They're loading up the trucks!”

“I can't leave this spot alone, they're already noticing it's weak!” 

“I'll take care of it, Jack is literally alone up there!”

That got Gabe moving. Behind him, Jesse lobbed another bomb, effectively blocking the weak point with fire. The sounds of zombies shrieking in pain and frustration brought a smile to his face.

He ran for where the deuce was rumbling further up than the dually and the nervously shifting and pawing horses were being loaded up. Kaspar was a little more steadfast, but Yuki and Bertha were both tossing their heads around and snorting.

Genji wasn't far, watching for anything that managed to slip past. His blade was bloody, but thankfully, it seemed that the blood was from wherever he had been before, rather than any zombies that had gotten into the inner walls.

When Hanzo came running with his and Jesse’s bags, he’d packed more than just the few things Jesse had asked for but made sure to pack those things where they’d be easy to find, Jack sent him up to Jesse with the gun. Thankfully, Hanzo had already been planning to go up there. He nodded, taking Peacekeeper out of its wooden case and tucked it into the waistband of his pants. 

Running out toward Jesse required him to run right past Genji, but he didn’t even slow down. Genji was safer back here than up in front and as long as he was safe, Hanzo didn’t really want to speak to him right now.

Genji had opened his mouth to tell Hanzo to be careful, but when Hanzo didn't even slow down, his mouth clicked shut. They'd never fought like this before. How long was this going to last? Would Hanzo ever forgive him? He shook the thoughts from his head. Now wasn't really the time to be distracted.

“Jesse!” Hanzo called, following the sound of fire as he looked for the cowboy. Most of the outer yard was completely overrun and there were spots in the inner fence that made him  _ very _ nervous. “I brought your gun!”

Jesse whipped around when Hanzo called his name, then relaxed. “Thanks, darlin’. Been kinda nervous without one. Never realized how many spots on the inside wall were busted up. Been trying to block 'em off with fire.”

“I can block them,” Hanzo said easily but his confidence dropped when the inner wall started to shake in another spot. When he’d come here, he’d been impressed by how well fortified they were and now he was impressed by how naive he’d been. There were so many places they could have better fortified. “I  _ can _ keep them out.” He didn’t want to do it that way, but he would if that’s what it took.

Jesse gave Hanzo a smile but shook his head, then lit another bomb to toss where the wall had started to shake. “I've got several more of these. I'm gonna keep trying to dent their numbers with 'em so we can save ammo.” He didn't know how many were out front of the base or how much ammo they'd have to use to get out. He didn't want to risk it either.

“I wonder how much time we have left--” Hanzo asked. That fire was fierce but it would only last so long. Grass went up quickly but it also burned out fast, there was nothing saying that it would buy them enough time. 

Jack was trying to give them more time. The zombies shaking at the walls where they were was one problem, the ones that seemed to walk right over the bodies of their fallen comrades--forming a bloody bridge into the main courtyard--didn’t care about the fire on the edges. Jack was counting the pulse rounds he was using and he didn’t like the number he was up to. “Gabi, I’m gonna run out of ammo soon.”

Gabe nodded. He wasn't doing much better. “I can't tell if this is better or worse than omnics.”

“Jack!” Ingrid’s voice came from inside as she ran out to talk to both of them. “The tank is almost full--” She looked back toward the deuce that they’d decided to leave idling. Biodiesel was notorious for being hard to start. “I’m trying to fit as much food in as possible. Just in case.” In case they could never come back. 

“Ok.” Jack’s tone was distracted, not really paying attention because he was trying to keep zombies out. 

“Fareeha went up to the top of the mesa, Jack.” Ingrid said, panic edging into her voice. “There’s more out there. A lot more--I don’t know how we’re going to get out.”

“We'll figure something out!” Gabe called back. They  _ had _ to figure something out. They had to get to Houston. They had survived omnics, they could survive this. Of course, they'd also had a lot more ammo when they were fighting the omnics… and a lot more friends. Torbjorn's turrets would be a godsend right now.

Jesse lobbed his last explosive over the wall, “That's the last of them. Hopefully it's worth something.” He shot a worried glance back at Hanzo. “Let's get up front, okay?”

Hanzo nodded, hoping that the fire lasted long enough to make it out of here. He turned and ran for the smaller idling truck. They had pulled it out far enough that both were ready to go, but they’d have to find a way through the sea of zombies in front of them.

“Everybody get in the trucks! We’ve got to go now!” Jack called over the roar of the fire as it started to catch their junk patches in the inner wall. 

Not far behind Hanzo was Jesse, reloading ammo into Peacekeeper as if he'd never stopped using her. He hoped that she was still in working condition. He had cleaned her before she went on the wall, but she'd been there for years. He'd have to chance it.

Genji sliced through another group of zombies before dashing back towards the truck that hauled the horse trailer. His heart was pounding as he climbed into the back and then realized Max wasn't back there. He relaxed a little when he saw him bringing a crate out. Then, movement in the dark where it shouldn't have been. Genji lunged from his seat, “Max! Look out!” He wouldn't be fast enough. He was too far away and the others were busy up front, but he had to try. He couldn't just--

Max’s cloudy blue eyes looked up in confusion, but then something else caught his attention. He cocked his head to the side and then dropped the crate at his feet. He wasn’t exactly well known for being armed, but a long knife was pulled out of… somewhere. Just as the creature lunged for him, he stepped to the side and caught it by the dark hair on its head. Max snarled, pulling the hair back, flipping his knife in one hand and then slitting its throat so deep that the weight of its body caused that head to come free in his hand and splatter the inside of the garage with blood. “Ya fuckin’ menaces, ruinin’ my goddamn lasagna--” The blood was all over the crate and it rendered everything inside contaminated so he kicked the body for good measure.

Genji breathed out a sigh of relief as he ran to Max. “First of all, that was amazing. Second of all, you scared me to death.” He ran a hand through his hair with a shaky breath. “Are you okay?”

“‘M covered in blood that’s filled with nanites designed ‘t make me lose control of everythin’ but mah lizard brain,” Max grit out as he started to carefully peel off his clothes even though it was cold and who knew how many people could see. “So help me outta these so I don’t end up like the boogieman I just killed.”

“N-nanites? I thought it was a virus?” Genji frowned. Then, he paused halfway through trying to work on Max's shirt, “I don't want to accidentally get you infected. It's a lot harder for me to get your clothes off without making a mess of things than it would be for you. What if I go get you a blanket instead? There's a bunch in the back of the big truck?”

“That’s what they wanted youse t’ think--” Max bit it off and kept stripping, keeping his eyes closed firmly. He didn’t want to get anything in there on accident. “A blanket would be nice, wipin’ my face off before I accidentally smear this shit into anything important would be nice _ r.” _

Genji frowned and looked for anything to wipe Max's face off with before running for the truck and grabbing a blanket and a towel which thankfully, someone seemed to have piled on the back for anyone climbing in who had gotten blood on them. 

“I got a towel and a blanket.” He said as he returned to Max.

“Alright…” Max stood there for a second before groaning, “Genji I ain't gonna get any less blind. Please help me wiped off so we can go!”

“I--” Genji really didn't want to get Max infected but he did as he was told anyway. He was careful about the areas near Max's nose, eyes and mouth and wiped the rest of his face away from places that might lead to an infection, then wiped off Max’s hands and toweled him down. The towel was dropped next to Max's bloody clothes, and Genji wrapped Max up in the blanket. “Do you mind if I carry you? It'd be faster.”

“Do it.” Max nodded, “Do whatever you need to-- I know they’re coming.” He would need to be wiped down with alcohol once he was inside, just to be sure, but this was the best they could do for field dressing.    


“Genji!?” Hanzo’s panicked voice rose over the roar of the engine. “We can’t leave without Genji! Where is Genji?!”

“We're not going to leave without him, darlin’, don't worry.” Jesse frowned and fired off a round into the head of a zombie that was too close. “I'll go check 'round back, he might already be in the dually.”

Hanzo hadn’t even gotten close to the high torque dually because he’d been too busy running around in front of the deuce looking for Genji. Ingrid had already pulled herself into the huge deuce with Brigitte and Thyr while Jack was her shotgun--though the literal shotgun would be in back. Blankets had been prepped in the back of the deuce behind the huge diesel tank so Gabe could make sure nothing would just jump into the the bed while they moved. Naomí was at the driver’s door of the dually, it looked like she’d be driving and it went unspoken that Jesse would be her gun.

When he heard the sound of a window breaking back where Jesse had gone, Hanzo ran back there just in time to watch Ana wrap her hand in the bloody and discarded towel on the ground to knock glass out of the frame. She and Fareeha were setting up in the empty fourth stall beside the now broken window and Ana had her rifle in her hand. Hanzo didn’t have to be told that she was planning on shooting anything that chased them. 

“Why ain’t youse in the truck?” Max asked from Genji’s arms. 

“I could ask the same of you two.” Hanzo frowned, crossing his arms. He wasn’t even going to ask why Max was wrapped up like a burrito.

“A zombie snuck in from behind while Max was bringing food out.” Genji looked down at Max, “Max took care of it, but his clothes got drenched in blood so…” He gestured with his head at the blanket.

Hanzo opened his mouth to retort when the sound of the deuce’s horn shook him from it. “Everyone get in!” Ingrid barked from the driver’s seat. He’d never seen that woman be anything but pleasant. He’d also never seen her in fatigues, but today was a day for everything. 

“We’ll discuss it more on the ride.” Hanzo snapped, pointing toward the truck. Jack was running out of bullets and they were running out of time.

Genji quickly ran for the truck, setting Max inside before climbing in himself.

Jesse slid into the passenger seat and rolled down the window enough that he could shoot out of it but not enough that grabby hands could get inside as easy.

Hanzo pulled himself in last, shutting the back door before nodding to Jesse. “We are all inside.” 

Naomí stuck her arm out her window and made a gesture to start moving, waving her hand forward while pointing with two fingers.

Ingrid answered it by waving her own hand and sounding the horn again, throwing the deuce into gear. It was audible by the change in rumble as she started for the gate.

“Dually, come in?” Came over the radio on the dash. Jack had tossed a walkie with a fresh rechargeable battery into each truck and it would come in handy now.

Jesse grabbed the radio, clicking the button on the side, “Readin’ loud 'n clear, old man. Whatcha got?”

“A roadblock.” Jack responded, a frown in his voice they didn’t need to see to hear. “We’re going to try and ram our way out but I’m worried about the trailer.”

“Don't ram. You'll chew up the axles. Can ya get to one side? If I get line of sight, I can drop enough fer y'all t’ turn t’ soup when ya'll go over.”

“Ingrid, pull the deuce over so Jess has line of sight.” Jack’s voice came over the radio as a kind of acknowledgement to his idea. “We’re moving, kid.”

As the deuce shifted to the side, Jesse paled a little. “Uh, when you said 'roadblock’, ya failed t’ mention half the country was banging at the doors.”

In the back of the truck, Hanzo looked at his younger brother and then leaned forward to pat Naomí on the shoulder. “Keep a solid speed, please.”

“What? Why?” Naomí tossed a look over her shoulder as Hanzo finished shimmying out the sunroof and she paled as she set the cruise control.

Jesse could just about feel his heart in his throat as Hanzo climbed up on the roof of the truck and Genji passed his bow up with a frown.

“What’s he gonna do? Bow ‘m down?” Max asked, sitting up with the blanket around his waist as he looked confused. He couldn’t see much in the dark but there was a distinctly dark shape now sitting on the windshield.

Hanzo inhaled, exhaled and found his center, nocking the bow with an arrow that wasn’t there because he didn’t need one for this. He needed the bow and he needed to  _ feel. _ In, out, exhale the air and become the dragon. 

_ “Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau!” _ Hanzo boomed loud enough that somehow, over the wind and screaming zombies, it could be heard in the truck before a bright flash of blue light erupted from his arm. When he fired the arrow--one that was now completely composed of that same blue light--twin dragons clawed their way into existence and raced past the deuce to tear right through those zombies at the door leaving no trace that they were ever there to begin with.

“What the  _ fuck _ is that!?” Jack’s voice came over the radio, both in awe and alarm.

“Does it matter? We have a path! Let's move!” Jesse barked back, voice a little sharper than he meant because his baby was currently still on the roof. “Hold 'er steady, 'm gonna open the door.”

He unbuckled and leaned out the door to help Hanzo back inside. “Gimme yer bow darlin’, I'll set it in the back.” When Hanzo complied, Jesse passed it back to Genji, who tucked it back where it had been. “Alright you next, c'mon.”

Hanzo shifted his weight back onto the roof before going in behind the door so that at the end of his swing, it left him firmly seated in Jesse’s lap.

“You heard him,” Jack called, “Let’s move.” The deuce pulled back out and headed through the gap made by the shimmering dragons that were still somehow keeping the zombies back, driving out at the highest speed Ingrid could push it at so that the others would have enough room to get through too. 

With Hanzo safely in the truck, Jesse slammed the door and Naomí disengaged the cruise control, speeding up to follow as close behind the deuce as was safe to. “Darlin’, we got talk about this when there's less chance of horrible death.”

“Fair.” Hanzo chuckled, looking winded as he sat there for a moment before starting to climb back over the seat into the back. He nearly smashed Genji on the way, before getting comfortable on the end again.

“Well,  _ he  _ may want to talk later, but I want to know what the hell just happened, now.” Naomí glanced back with a raised eyebrow.

“Not it.” Hanzo murmured, rubbing the spot between his brows that always started to throb after he did that. “Your turn, Genji.”

“Why me? They're  _ your _ giant, obnoxious spirit dragons!”

_ “‘Obnoxious’?” _ Hanzo gasped, “Yours is so much worse.”

_ “How?” _ Genji gave him a confused look, “I can put mine in my pocket! Sorta. More like sheath… is a sheath just a pocket for a sword?”

_ “Urusai.” _ Hanzo snarled and had to physically restrain himself from outright shoving his sibling. “Fine. You want to get out of it that badly?  _ Fine. _ They’re spirit dragons. We have them because we’re ninja. And Shimada. And it’s complicated. Are you happy now, Genji?” He turned to look out the window and frown.

“I was going to explain… you didn't have to yell--” Genji wilted and leaned toward Max.

“Oh, I’m not yelling.” Hanzo snipped, looking over his shoulder with a narrow expression. “Don’t act as if you’re some innocent bystander here. I haven’t yelled at you  _ yet.” _

“I wasn't--” Genji groaned and leaned further away as if he could get away from Hanzo's ire by melting into Max.

“Boys, please don't fight in the truck.” Naomí sighed, “Genji, stop guilt-tripping your brother.” 

Genji opened his mouth and then closed it, face screwing up and then turning his head so that it was buried where no one could see.

Max, for his part, wrapped an arm around Genji and pet his hair while they moved. It was cold in the truck, since it hadn’t been on long enough for the back of the cab to get warm and the door beside him radiated cold from outside, so Genji being close was pleasant. He liked the warmth, if not the reason. 

Jesse looked back, frowning and then reached back and rested a few fingers on Hanzo's knee to grab his attention and then flipped his hand palm up so that if Hanzo wanted to, they could hold hands.

The archer took his offer, holding the fingers close before leaning forward and kissing the knuckles before looking back out the window. 


	16. Chapter 16

The first time the truck had drifted onto the rumble strip, Jesse hadn't paid it any mind. The second time, Jesse had glanced over and frowned, “You okay? Yer driftin’.”

“I'm--” Naomí yawned, “I'll be fine,  _ mijo _ .”

Jesse frowned, “I wish I could believe ya but yawn says otherwise.”

She waved him off and sat up straighter, “I've driven farther.”

“Not at the end of the day after Thanksgiving dinner though.”

“No turkey. It's fine.”

“Yer enchiladas are a magical sleep aid, mama. Lemme radio up front. If Ingrid is okay, I can take the wheel and let ya sleep.”

Naomí sighed and then gestured for him to go ahead and do it.

“Hey old man, how y'all lookin’ up there? We may need to switch drivers back here.”

“Ingrid’s flagging and I’m not doing great.” Jack admitted back. “It’s been a long ass night and we all need rest.”

Hanzo had managed to fall asleep in the back seat and despite his beef with Genji, was asleep on his brother’s shoulder, snoozing like nothing had happened.

“Alright, find us a spot then. I can keep watch.” 

The deuce had been driving with its lights on bright and flashed down to low beams before going back up to the highs as it started looking for a good spot. They didn’t want to be on the side of a major highway if most of them were going to be asleep so when Jack called for her to pull over, Ingrid took the first exit that wasn’t marked and headed off that way. Then she took the next street that seemed to lead to nowhere, found them a good spot in the middle of a field that looked as if there had once been a building or possibly buildings but now was just slabs of cracked and overgrown concrete.

“I found a spot.” Ingrid chimed over the radio, taking the deuce around to flatten down the brush that had grown up through the concrete.

Naomí followed her in, parking the dually and leaning back in the seat with a sigh of relief.

Jesse stretched with a groan and glance back where the other three were already asleep. Seeing Hanzo slumped over on Genji warmed his heart, in a way. He was still upset with Genji for hurting Hanzo but it was cute to see them getting along when they slept. He looked over at his mama, who had already lolled her head to the side and then back out the window. He could sleep once they got moving again. Maybe switch places with Reyes or something.

“Hey y'all. C'mon.” He hated to disturb the peace between the brothers, but he knew they'd hate the cricks in their necks more. “Can't sleep in the truck. You'll hate yerself for it.”

Max woke first, his eyes snapping open to ‘look’ at Jesse before groaning. He too had moved to lean on Genji, making him the unfortunate center man in this huddle for warmth. “I don’t have any pants.” He whined, sneezing and hiding under the blanket that he’d shared with the ninja at some point.

“Genji should let you have his.” Hanzo groaned, stretching as much as he could and then opened the door. The blast of cold air caused Max to gasp and whine.

“That doesn't even make sense, Hanzo.” Genji remarked while squinting at his brother.

“I-- I’m tired.” Hanzo admitted, rubbing his face and hoped that the crisp night air would get him awake again. “Word bank empty.”

“Does the ryuugawagiwagi make youse tired?” Max asked, yawning himself and stealing the rest of the blanket back so that he wasn’t barely covered.

“It can, I guess.” Hanzo frowned. He hadn’t used it in so long that he couldn’t remember very well.

“Hey, look at it this way, Genji.” Jesse looked over his shoulder with a grin and a weak, “He's tryin’ t’ do you a favor by gettin’ him in yer pants.”

“You say that like he’s tryin’ t’ keep me out.” Max grumbled, bundling up and shivering. He at least got to keep his socks on but he didn’t have any shoes. They’d been making him a pair when it all went to hell.

“You say that like I'd want to.” Genji grinned.

“You say  _ that _ like I wouldn’t do it.” Max grinned back, winking though his aim was off.

“I take it back. I didn't sign up for this.” Jesse groaned.

Ingrid came bounding out of the deuce, headed for the living quarters of the horse trailer. It wasn’t perfect but it did have a heating and cooling system that ran on batteries--said batteries were charged while the trailer was moving. That meant that it would be warm. “Alright, I say we pile all the bedding in the floor and get some sleep.”

“I say we get the blind kid some clothes,” Max grumbled.

Genji rubbed Max's shoulder. “I'll take care of that, don't worry, but first, let's get you inside where it's warmer.”

“Mah knight in shining armor, what would I do without youse?” Max snorted, hiding his face in the blanket because his nose was already starting to get cold. He let himself be led into a surprisingly spacious interior. It wasn’t small and the the entire portion with the couch pulled out when Jack yanked it into position from the outside.

Ana piled blankets onto the ground before flipping on the battery-powered heater. “Once everyone is down, we won’t need the heater. It’ll probably get so hot in here we can’t stand it.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Hanzo and Jesse are on the watch since they got to sleep already today. That’s the only good thing that came out of today. I’m putting them on one of the actual beds and Gabe with Jack on the other. Anyone have any complaints, they can take them up with me but those guys are keeping us alive so they ought to get the beds.”

“No complaints here,” Genji shrugged. He didn't care where he slept. His only priority was getting Max clothed. Once Max was in the living quarters, Genji went rifling through the packed up supplies, looking for clothing.

“Where’s Gabe?” Jack asked, looking around as Brigitte nearly covered his boots with blanket in her haste to get a cot made for a  _ very _ cranky Thyr.

“He hasn’t come in yet. Have you checked the deuce?” Ana asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jack frowned and turned on his heel to jog back over to the huge truck and pull himself up where he could look into it. Sure enough, Gabe was still in the back of the deuce with one of the blankets wrapped around him.The old soldier smiled some to himself and grabbed a couple more blankets that Brigitte had missed on her first pass and climbed in the back with him. It’d be more private than one of the bunk beds in the trailer anyway.

Gabe startled some, sucking in a sharp breath, hand going for his shotgun as his head whipped around. “Jackie?” He asked blearly.

Because Jack wasn’t a complete  _ idiot, _ he’d also knocked the shotguns out and away from Gabe so he wouldn’t get shot. PTSD is a real bitch, kids. “It’s me, Gabi. Go back to sleep, Jess’s got watch.”

Jack was met with a smile and hands reaching out to grab at him. “C'mere. Lemme… snuggle.”

“Mmhmm.” Jack got comfortable, pulled off his boots and then climbed under the blanket with him to pull the other close. The hardest part between them was usually deciding who ended up the little spoon but today, since Jack was the one awake and Gabe was the one mostly asleep, Gabe was stuck as the little spoon. “Goodnight, baby.”

“Night.”

After everyone had turned in, Jesse settled himself on the ground in the circle of the trucks. Anyone trying to take anything would be required to either pass him, or make noise. He had a blanket, a quilt and his jacket wrapped around him to keep the cold out but wished he could start a small fire. He wasn't sure that the attention the light could bring was worth it. God, he hated night patrols in late fall and winter. His only hope was that it didn't snow. Peacekeeper laid on his lap, and he had tucked his hands into his jacket and under his arms. He wished he had some coffee, or maybe some hot tea.

It was lucky that they had a full kitchen here because Hanzo was able to make them two mugs full of tea to drink while they were out there. He stepped out wearing a long shawl that Ana had provided for him, sitting down beside Jesse and handed him the mug. “I don’t think we’ll find anything out here.” Hanzo mused, scooting closer to Jesse so that they could share warmth at least on that one side.

“Not real worried about zombies, but roaming raider bands get pretty nasty.” Jesse sighed. He smiled as he accepted the tea, then leaned against Hanzo and offered the blankets so that they could both be warm. “How're ya feelin’?”

“Numb,” Hanzo watched the sky above his head. It was beautiful and clear. From here, he could see every speck of light that made up the Milky Way and the debris field scattered around their fractured moon. “It’s hard to know what to feel.”

Jesse nodded, following Hanzo's gaze up to stare at the sky. He'd heard from one of the old Overwatch folks that they'd put a moonbase up there, but it seemed something pretty terrible had happened. “Anything I can do to help?”

“I’m not sure,” Hanzo responded, resting his hands on each knee with his fists closed as if meditating. “I wonder if it isn’t better this way?”

That brought a frown to Jesse's lips and he squeezed Hanzo's shoulders gently. “If ya need t’ talk, I'll be here, darlin’.”

“I appreciate that.” Hanzo sighed, continuing to trace over the broken fragments of planet where they spread in a perpetual frozen moment with his eyes. He could remember when the moon was in one piece. He remembered when everything was easier, and harder, even if that didn’t make any sense. “Have you ever stood in the middle of a crowd and felt completely alone?”

“Yeah. It was like that a lot for me when I first got here. Then, I had my ma around, but it's just…” He tapped his fingers on the mug, as if grasping for words. “I get it.”

“I’ve always been like that, since I was very young,” Hanzo’s lips twisted down. “My mother thought that I wasn’t like the other kids. I didn’t speak at all until I was almost five… and when I did, it was only to Genji.” He smiled a little. “He was the only person that I was never afraid to be different around.”

The frown deepened, and Jesse leaned his head over. “Y’ want me t’ talk to 'im?”

“I don’t know.” Hanzo looked down at his hands. “I don’t know what good it will do. What if I’m just overreacting? I’m always just--” He clenched the open palms into fists and closed his eyes.

“Darlin’, I freaked out cause I thought you were leaving. I get it. I do.” Jesse sighed, “I don't think yer overreacting. It's scary t’ go from havin’ someone y’ can just talk to and be yourself and never have to put on any kind of front to… to having no one.”

“Did I though?” Hanzo asked, wringing his hands together. “I could just ‘get over it’ and pretend it didn’t happen. That’s what you’re supposed to do, isn’t it?”

“An’ I could just 'get over’ my anxiety or whatever the hell I have,” Jesse snorted as if they both knew that 'getting over it’ wasn't an option. He shifted the mug in his hand and took a drink from it. “I dunno. I just… I don't think you're overreacting, Hanzo.”

Hanzo pulled the blanket up higher and leaned into Jesse more. “I just… Since the omnic crisis ended and it all went to hell, it’s just been us. Our father and Genji and I had all been here in the US on business. Father died years ago, it’s only been Genji and I since then.” He pursed his lips. “I’ve barely seen him the last month. It almost feels like I don’t know him anymore.”

Jesse nuzzled Hanzo, unsure what to say. He frowned and scratched Hanzo's back as he chewed on his lip. He wanted to say something. He wanted to make it better but things were different when he thought Hanzo was leaving. He wanted to think that Genji would be the same as he'd been before, but that outburst before dinner didn't seem like Genji at all and he understood why Hanzo was upset.

After all that, Hanzo was just out of words. He didn’t know what else to say and settled for instead enjoying the comforting silence that Jesse could always provide. After a while, his cowboy had to get up and go walk around to stretch his legs. From the sound of neighing horses, he was letting them move around too. That was good, Yuki never tolerated being stuck in a small place for too long.

How long could he keep this up? They’d lost their base where everyone was ‘safe’ and now they were headed toward a radio transmission that Hanzo half expected to be an automated broadcast. What was to say that when they came back, the base wasn’t filled to bursting with infected? What was to say that whatever they found in Houston didn’t want them dead? There were so many questions and he didn’t have an answer to any of it. He didn't know what to expect and he didn't like that.

\---

Genji woke up to the space where Max had been being cold and empty. He glanced around before pulling himself away from the mess of bodies strewn haphazardly across the floor. Someone was snoring but he couldn't tell who.

He began checking the quarters for his blind companion and finally, found him curled up in one of the bunks clutching the same knife, now clean, that he'd used to decapitate the zombie on base. He almost considered trying to wake Max so he could curl up with him, but he was also familiar with the idea of slicing someone open if he was woken up so instead, he decided to go outside. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway and maybe he could help with watch.

Jesse was nowhere to be seen when he stepped out of the trailer, but Hanzo was out here. He chewed his lip, debating going back inside so that he didn't upset him further but then breathed in deep and went to go kneel beside him.

“Your tea is getting--” Hanzo looked up and then startled as he realized the person that had sat down beside him was Genji and not Jesse. He stood up, taking the blanket with him and stared mutely at his younger sibling. He had so many things he wanted to say, but his mouth remained stubbornly closed as it did so often with Jack when he’d first gotten there.

“Hanzo… wait.” He bowed forward so that his nose touched the ground,  _ “I wanted to apologize for my outburst, and for hurting you.” _

Panic raced through Hanzo, locking his jaw further shut. Genji had never apologized for anyone and not like this. Never. He let out a strangled noise, working his hands at both sides.  _ “Please don’t--”  _ The only time anyone did this was when the clan made them. The clan was dead. They were all dead, they couldn’t get to him or Genji here.

_ “I want to. I… you deserve this apology, Hanzo. It was-- you didn't deserve the way I reacted. It was a simple question. I'm sorry for the way I treated you.” _

This wasn’t  _ like _ Genji. He didn’t apologize--he  _ surely _ didn’t do a full formal apology like this. Hanzo had never wanted to see him down on his knees groveling before anyone, least of all him. It caused a panic that sat just below his rib cage and threatened to tear itself loose with every word. All Hanzo could do was turn around and clasp his hands behind his neck. His locked jaw transformed a heaving sob into barely more than a huff of air.

When he was met with silence, Genji finally raised his head to see Hanzo turned away. Had he hurt Hanzo so badly that Hanzo couldn't look at him? That Hanzo panicked at the sight of him? He shrunk back, tone barely a whisper,  _ “I'm so sorry, Hanzo.” _

He fled back to the trailer after that and tried to hide himself away. The bathroom was the only spot secluded enough for him to curl up that wouldn't have someone else there. He hadn't meant to yell at Hanzo. He hadn't-- He bit his lip as he wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face. He'd just have to keep apologizing and hope that one day Hanzo would forgive him.

Jesse loaded Yuki back up with a pat. The stallion had been the last one he let out to walk, because Bertha was too old to give a shit and Kaspar listened to him but Hanzo's little white stallion was the prissiest thing he'd ever met and it was a gamble on whether or not he'd actually listen that day or not. Today was thankfully the former.

However, when he went to return to Hanzo, he found him in the same position as in the barn. Had something happened? His face fell as he hazarded closer, “Hanzo? Darlin’? I'm back from walkin’ the horses. Can I come over there 'n sit?”

Hanzo shook his head and shuddered, tightening the hands on the back of his neck until the knuckles went white. It took him a second before he gasped in air through his lips and shook his head again. “Go away--” He stumbled forward out of the standing position and nearly fell on his face to instead sit on his knees.

Jesse almost lunged forward to catch him but the ‘Go away’ gave him pause and ended with him just taking a step forward with his hand out before he stepped back again and his hand dropped to his side. “Okay.” He glanced around, suddenly awkward. He shuffled for a second, unsure what to do before finally taking another step back. “I'll… if ya need me I'll be with Kaspar in the trailer.”

Hanzo needed to process through the panic and this reaction from his body that made him want to both scream and also not make a sound. Run but stay very still. Cry without breathing. When it happened, it always felt like his head and reactions were being split down the center and there was nothing he could do about it.

\---

Morning came very early for the members of this caravan. Ingrid had gotten to work on cutting apples down into tiny pieces where it could be added to the oatmeal that she was making for everyone. Apples would usually keep for a long time but the trip here had bruised quite a few of them and now they needed to be used. 

Naomí had gotten up around the same time Ingrid had, shuffled to the bathroom and found Genji sleeping sitting up against the wall of the shower. He had startled and apologized profusely when she woke him before hurrying out, face red. She had meant to ask him what was wrong but he was nowhere to be found when she exited the bathroom.

Now she was helping Ingrid and worrying about that fight she'd cut off in the truck yesterday. She'd never seen Hanzo and Genji fight. Petty squabbles and banter? Sure, they were brothers. It was to be expected, but not outright fight. Not to mention that Genji, who ate similarly to her son, had barely eaten at dinner the previous day.

“I’m worried about Hanzo and Genji…” She finally sighed out, “They were fighting in the truck yesterday.”

Ingrid looked over from where she was cutting the cores out of the apples as small as she could. The bruised portions of the apple were cut away as well, leaving only the parts that they could add to the food. “Aren’t those two always bickering about something?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“This wasn't bickering. Not like usual.” She looked down as she measured out the oats to soak, “Hanzo seemed very upset and Genji asked him not to yell, even though Hanzo didn't raise his voice.”

Ingrid frowned, turning around so that she could look at Naomí. “Do you think something happened?” She didn’t know what was going on. “Angry siblings doesn’t seem that odd to me.” She’d had so many children that all fought, she didn’t know what made this any different.

“Angry siblings don't normally end with one sleeping in the shower and acting afraid of their shadow.” Naomí pointed out.

“What!?” Ingrid put her knife down and scooped the apples into the pot. “Who is sleeping in the shower?”

“Genji. Which seems even more odd, because Hanzo is the timid one.” Naomí scratched her head and scooped out another portion of oats. “He also wasn't eating like normal yesterday.”

“What the hell is going on with these kids?” Ingrid asked, putting both hands on the counter with a frown. “Brigitte!” She called, knowing that her daughter was around.

“Yes, mama?” Brigitte called from the other room where she was pulling on her shoes.

“Go outside and call in the others, would you? Breakfast is almost done.”

“Yes, mama.” Brigitte answered again. She liked Jesse a lot and didn't need to be told twice to go hang out with him. She bounded out the door of the trailer and looked around. They weren't hard to find… Hanzo was literally squatting on the ground with his hands behind his neck. If it weren't for the fact that he was upright, the slow breathing would make her think he was asleep.

“What's going on?” She asked, looking around for Jesse. When she did find him, it was the gentle snoring she that led her to him, coming from Kaspar's section of the trailer. He was asleep in the chair that had always been in the back of the deuce for some reason or another, Kaspar's head over his shoulder while Jesse slept against the gelding's chest. It was cute, but looked  _ really _ uncomfortable.

Kaspar lifted his head and the movement jostled Jesse enough that he woke with a start and a groan, “Kaspar… I was comfortable.”

“Jesse,” Brigitte said as she knocked on the wall of the stall. Yuki huffed and knocked back with his head. “Aren't you supposed to be on watch? You're asleep and Hanzo didn't even answer me!”

“Shit… didn't mean t'--” Jesse rubbed at his eyes, “Was givin’ Hanzo a bit of space. He's been… real upset since Genji yelled at him.” He stretched and shoved Kaspar's nose out of his face. “C'mon y’ menace…” He mumbled as Kaspar lipped at his beard, “I know I ain't shaved in a couple days. Stop it.”

“Why  _ did _ Genji yell at him, anyway?” Brigitte asked, looking back out at the ninja who had actually slumped over and was laying on his side.

“I dunno. Was gonna talk to him if he didn't talk to Hanzo about it.” He sighed and shook his head, “As far as I can tell, he just flew off the handle. Doesn't make any sense. Then again, he has been hanging out with the guy  _ known _ fer just blowin’ up over nothin’ for the last month.” He glanced past Brigitte at Hanzo and his face fell.  _ 'Alone in a crowd…’ _ “I'm gonna go check on 'im.”

She watched as Jesse walked past her and worried her hands together. “Do… do you think they're gonna be ok?” She liked gossip well enough but she didn't like conflict. This was too much like conflict for her tastes. “I don't think Max would be the reason for this though. He only blows up over nothing when it's you.” The rest of the time he was actually quite charming, at least to all the women.

“I dunno. I mean, I don't think he's ever done that to Hanzo before 'n shakin’ someone's faith in a person doesn't just go away.” He seemed like he knew that one from experience. “Also, he gets mad at like,  _ everythin’  _ he cooks. I've heard him cuss out pasta for no damn reason.”

“Cussing out a thing and cussing out a person are two different things.” Brigitte murmured, walking out with Jesse and kneeling beside Hanzo. He  _ was _ asleep. The older Shimada was passed clean out and snoozing on the ground. “He's gonna die of pneumonia out here.”

“Give 'im a little space,” Jesse cautioned. “I dunno how well he's gonna take me wakin’ him up.”

“I'm back here, don't worry about me.” Brigitte gave him a thumbs up and went to the door of the trailer so she was plenty of distance away. Anyone who could pull dragons out of their ass was somebody to stay away from when randomly waking them up. “Breakfast is almost done, by the way. Mom sent me out here to get you both but I got distracted by the fact that you were asleep and he was…Well, whatever that is.”

He nodded absent-mindedly. He'd probably grab some to take with him wherever he ended up going with Hanzo. They both needed to eat something. He settled on the ground out of range of startled flailing. He had a tendency to kick people in the shins when woken up and not knowing where he was, so he didn't really want to risk it. “Hanzo? Hanzo, wake up darlin’. Ya can't sleep out here, you'll catch yer death.”

Hanzo, to his credit, didn't flail or move much at all. He was cold and stiff from being out there so long which meant he barely moved at all when he woke up. “Mm… tired.” He started to uncurl, however, standing up slowly as he did.

Jesse held out his hand, asking permission to touch Hanzo. After being told to go away, he wasn't sure what would be okay and what wouldn't. “Let's get ya inside and get ya warmed up, okay?” His eyes softened, “Could probably use some breakfast too. Neither of us have eaten since lunch yesterday.”

“I’m cold.” Hanzo bleated, though it was obvious as much. He took the hand as he tried to restore feeling in his joints by moving them. The first thing he did once he was fully functioning again was approach Jesse with his arms out.

“Aw baby…” Jesse sighed with a gentle expression, “C’mere.” He pulled off his jacket to drape over Hanzo’s shoulders as he wrapped him up in a hug, gently rubbing the archer’s back and then dropping one hand, “Lemme see yer hands, darlin’. I’ll warm ‘em up for ya.”

“Thank you.” Hanzo mumbled as he placed his hands in Jesse’s and squeezed them. He was so cold he could only barely tell how cold he was. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.” He mumbled, hiding in the warmth. “It was too much.”

“It’s no problem, darlin’. Either part.” He gently kissed the top of Hanzo’s head, “I don’t wan’ ya gettin’ sick, ‘n I  _ like _ takin’ care of ya. It’s...it’s a good feelin’ bein’ able to take care of you like you take care of me.” He rested his chin on Hanzo’s head, “An’ as for the other? Don’t worry about it. I… I dunno what yer attacks are like but I know that with mine, everythin’ just focuses in on that one thing until I can’t breathe, can’t think… It ain’t yer fault ‘n I mean, it stung a little but I ain’t blamin’ ya fer needin’ space.”

“I just needed more space than normal. I don’t understand it either.” He looked up at Jesse, kissing at his jaw before tucking his nose under because it was cold and Jesse was warm. “Does the trailer have hot water?” He’d kill for a shower.

He smiled as he tucked his head down enough to kiss Hanzo's nose and then considered the question, “No harm in checking! I can get ya some tea 'n breakfast made up while yer showering if it does.”

“I would appreciate that greatly, Jesse.” Hanzo turned and started to slowly walk while keeping himself in Jesse’s warmth for the door. When they got to the trailer, Hanzo broke off and decided to go to the bathroom and inquire about a warm shower. This trailer  _ did _ have hot water, wonder of wonders. The only issue with it was that he’d need to be fast because there wasn’t a lot in the tank, though the next time they found a town they’d be able to fill it up. Water lines were fed by gravity in a lot of small towns--which meant they were still working and could be used to fill the trailer... or at least that was the hope.

While Hanzo was in the shower, Jesse was busy trying to get tea going while also staying out of Ingrid and his mama’s way. It looked like breakfast was oatmeal and apples. Good, easy to carry off in one bowl and share.

“Jesse,” Ingrid said as he came into the kitchen. Most of the people were either still asleep-- _ Thyr-- _ or already up and out of the room. “Is everything alright with Hanzo and Genji?” Everything was straight to the point with her.

“Dunno if that’s my business t’ say, ma’am.” He wasn’t even really sure of the answer and gossiping over things that he wasn’t sure of wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. His eyes flicked back to the water he’d set to heat. “Besides, I know about as much as you.”

She tilted her lips down, nodding some. “Genji was asleep in the shower when your mother went in this morning and I’m just worried about them.” It came from a genuine place of care, if not the best way of going about it.

Jesse hummed a little with a frown pulling at his lips as the tiniest of bubbles began to form along the bottom of the saucepan he’d pulled out in an effort to not have to search for a kettle. Maybe he  _ should  _ talk to Genji, but for reasons  _ other  _ than to convince him that he needed to talk to Hanzo. He sighed and closed his eyes. “I’ll talk to Genji. Maybe I can figure out what’s going on.”  _ ‘And why Genji snapped at Hanzo for nothing.’ _

“Please do, Jesse,” Ingrid produced a small ziplock that included sugar she’d been mixing with molasses and offered it to him for the oatmeal. “I’m worried about them. Everything I do seems to make it worse.”

“Well, I can’t speak fer Genji or Hanzo… but I can speak for me.” His eyes shifted just long enough to catch sight of the sugar and molasses mixture and took it gratefully with a bow of his head. “I didn’t know what I was doin’ with Hanzo. Yeah, I knew how I felt,” he worked the mixture in the bag to occupy his hands, “I knew what I  _ wanted _ and I had started kinda thinkin’ about how I’d go about it. All that flirtin’? I was-- I didn’t know what  _ he _ wanted. An’ then, I start thinkin’ that I might have an idea, and I was gonna try all those things I’d been thinkin’ about. Didn’t get to even start.” He stopped kneading the sugar in his hands and closed his eyes. “Got shoved into somethin I had no part or say in, an’ all those ideas went out the window.”

“Jesse, I’m sorry--” Ingrid twisted her hands together. “I shouldn’t have gone through with that, I didn’t know he’d act like that and I thought it was a good idea.” She sniffed, “It sounded like a good idea and then it wasn’t and it was our fault.” It had worked out in the end but she’d caused him a lot of needless suffering. “I’m so sorry.”

Jesse was quiet for a moment and then set down the bag of sugar and slipped past his mama, who looked just as ashamed and upset as Ingrid, grabbing her hand and pulling her along as he approached Ingrid. “I know y’all meant well, ‘n I ain’t holdin’ any hard feelins.” He draped an arm around his mama’s shoulders and pulled her in close while offering his other arm to Ingrid.

Everyone around here knew that Ingrid was the huggiest of all the moms and when he offered her the hug, she took it enthusiastically. She squeezed him and Naomí tightly around the waist. “I’m glad. I love you like my own child and I wouldn’t want you to be angry at me.” Ingrid gushed, deciding that one hug wasn’t good enough before squeezing him in a second time. “I’m glad everything worked out well.”

He chuckled, “Who could ever be angry at you for any length of time?” He squeezed a little in response to her second hug, a squeak of protest rising from Naomí as he almost neared bear hug levels. He released his hold a little and then bowed his head with a smile, “I’m glad it worked out too. He’s real good t’ me. Good  _ for  _ me. Always has been.”

“You smile more when he’s near,” Ingrid gushed, it was clearly her favorite topic. “You smile more and you’re more social and he talks more when you’re here--Your boy is very skittish. I think he said all of eight words in total before he met you.”

Jesse nodded and even though he knew why those things were, he felt as though they were a bit more private than this conversation really needed. Getting into issues with mental health and admitting that he felt like he needed to force a lot of things seemed a bit heavy after they’d just broken into the light-hearted. “We understand each other and that really helps us a lot.”

“Good! Good. I’m happy for you both.” Ingrid backed up to instead take his free hand and squeeze it in both of her own. “What’re you waiting for?” She asked, laughing and nudging him. “I just heard the shower shut off. Go!”

He snorted and gestured at the pot of water. “I promised tea. Can’t leave without it.”

“Well then,” Ingrid grinned widely as she leaned back and looked down the hall. “Guess I’ll have to be burdened with keeping an eye on Hanzo.”

He raised an eyebrow and snorted, “Careful, might get jealous.” He grinned and winked because not a lick of that sentence was true. His mama hadn’t raised a jealous man. He knew better anyway. Hanzo was a good man, a real good man and even if Hanzo weren’t as gay as they came, he wouldn’t worry.

“Don’t worry, he’s too tall for her.” Ana chuckled, looking over from the table where she had been eating her oatmeal silently for most of their conversation.

Ingrid gasped in scandal, placing a hand on her chest. “I would argue but she’s right,” She grinned and shrugged. 

Jesse snorted and shook his head. “Ain’t even gonna comment on that.” He pulled two mugs from the cabinet as the bubbles started to rise. “Could you pass me one of the big bowls please, mama?”

Naomí chuckled as she not only pulled one of the bigger bowls out, but two spoons as well and scooped the oatmeal in. She knew what her son was up to. She set the bowl on the counter while Jesse stared at the saucepan as if suddenly realizing a dilemma. “Use the sink,  _ mijo _ .”   
  
Jesse opened his mouth, then closed it with an embarrassed frown and shuffled over to pour the water into the mugs where he couldn’t burn his hands.

“Children will always be children, even when they’re old enough to have children of their own.” Ingrid chuckled. “‘I’ll love you forever, I’ll love you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be.’” That was Thyr’s favorite book to read before bed and by this point she had it memorized.

Jesse waved her off and ducked his head, even as his ears started burning. He dropped two bags of tea into the water and hooked his fingers into both handles before tucking the sugar into the sleeve of his long-sleeve shirt and grabbing the bowl with the other hand. He ducked out of the kitchen with a nod to the three mothers of the group and then hurried to find Hanzo.

Hanzo had about as many clothes as anyone else so showering had forced him to actually wear his pajamas. They were soft and comfortable, at least, but he assumed after taking watch all night they wouldn’t make him stay awake. He stood in the hall toweling down his hair as Max wandered past in a sleepy daze.

_ “Ohayo, _ Max.” Hanzo greeted softly, bobbing his head at Max who yawned and nodded at him.

_ “ _ _ Buongiorno,” _ Max mumbled back, waving while he passed down the hall toward the smell of food. 

Jesse stepped to the side when Max got near and let him pass before continuing toward Hanzo with a grin. “Brought breakfast! Tea's still steepin'... I didn't add any honey cause I wasn't sure how much ya like.” He held out the hand with the mugs, “I can go get it if you'd like. Got sugar n’ molasses here.” He tapped his sleeve with the hand holding the bowl.

“I will take my tea without any.” Hanzo took the mugs so that he could let Jesse have one of his hands free. “I hope they will let us sleep.” He looked markedly better after the hot shower but still had a red nose and a sniffle.

Jesse smiled softly, “I’m sure they will.” He pulled the bag of sugar from his sleeve and then shifted the mug to the hand with the bowl and held out his hand, “Anywhere ya'd like to sit?”

“Anywhere is good.” Hanzo glanced around for a good place and noticed the bottom bunk was empty. He could just sort of tell that Max had been sleeping there--mostly because he always smelled of vanilla and Hanzo couldn't tell if it was intentional or a side effect of cooking so much, but it was definitely a thing.

“I hope you don’t mind that I only got one bowl for the two of us,” Jesse said as he moved towards the bunk, “Figured it’d be easier t’ share in tight quarters than trying to hold two bowls.”

Hanzo sat on the side of the bunk, awkwardly leaning forward and sipping his tea before offering a hand out for the bowl. “Thank you for the food.”

Jesse settled next to him with a smile, “It’s no problem, darlin. Always happy t’ do stuff for ya.” He passed him the bowl before pouring a bit of the sugar and molasses into his tea. He could drink it unsweet, and it was easier to do it when it was hot, but he definitely prefered it sweet.

“I’m sorry for what happened last night,” Hanzo murmured softly as he leaned into Jesse and began to take a spoonful of the oatmeal before blowing on it to cool it down. “I was caught off guard. Genji came out and he got down in seiza and I--” He swallowed. “It was the clan all over again. I worked so hard to keep Genji from ever needing to do what I did, to become what I became and… well, there he was. It was too much.”

“It’s alright darlin’, I ain’t upset. I-- At the risk of soundin’ like an idiot, what’s seiza?” Jesse’s brows furrowed as he tilted his head. “Can’t imagine anythin’ good judgin’ by yer reaction.”

“It’s--” Hanzo mulled over the words and then shook his head. “It’s normal in my culture; it shouldn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me for anyone but him. Seiza is the full bow, the most genuine and respectful one can be. All the way down until your forehead touches the ground. It isn’t the seiza that is strange, it’s the fact that it was  _ Genji _ performing it. He never apologized to anyone. I never wanted him to have to apologize to me. I worked  _ so hard _ so that he would be free and he’d never know the shame that would make someone need to do that.”

The younger sibling was still stowed away on the top bunk, unknown to the others below. Genji opened his mouth and then closed it, laying very still with his hand over his mouth. It was the seiza that had made Hanzo upset? His brow furrowed. It always seemed like Hanzo would  _ want _ the formal apology for something this major. Did he not know his brother as well as he thought? He closed his eyes and stifled down more tears. He just wanted to make it right. He just wanted Hanzo to know how sorry he was and all he’d done was make things worse. Then again, wasn’t that usually how things went? He was always the one that messed things up.

“Ah.” Jesse looked down at his mug for a moment. So much for talking to Genji about apologizing. He’d almost made it worse by doing that. “I guess that makes sense, but… if Genji never apologized t’ anyone and suddenly, he’s makin’ formal apologies like that… I dunno, maybe there’s more t’ this than we think.” Jesse ran his thumb up and down the mug. Hanzo was upset because Genji had gone through the full formal apology and Genji… was upset about something too.

Hanzo continued to slowly eat before the whole conversation just became too much for him and he returned the spoon with a sigh. “I made him upset, I think. I panicked when he started to apologize like that and I couldn’t stop it so I just… I turned around and locked up. I didn’t mean to but I couldn’t make it stop.”

Genji wanted to jump down and just hug Hanzo and tell him it was okay. He wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault but he couldn’t make himself move but the longer he sat here, the worse it would be when he had to move later. He just had to hope that Hanzo and Jesse would be asleep by then.

Jesse held out his hand in case Hanzo wanted it to hold and then sighed, “I’m gonna talk t’ Genji later, if ya don’t mind. Maybe if I go between the two of ya, we can get this figured out.” He knew Hanzo loved his brother dearly or this whole thing wouldn’t be tearing him apart so badly. “I wanna help.”

“Please,” Hanzo wouldn’t usually invite anyone in to do this for him but in this case, having Jesse take care of it would be easier on him emotionally. He took the hand in his and squeezed it. “I just don’t know what to do. I miss my brother. It’s been a day, but really, it’s been a month.”

“Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ll talk to ‘im… don’t like seein’ either of ya sad. He’s my lil brother and we’re… uh--” He made a confused face, “Whatever we’ve decided this is.” He laughed sheepishly, “Are we--” He scratched his neck, “Are we boyfriends? Did we ever decide what this is?”

“I don’t… understand?” Hanzo asked and looked confused as he stared up at Jesse. “I am yours? I don’t--” Hanzo shook his head with a small but still confused smile. “I don’t understand the question.”

Jesse chuckled and his face burned a little, “I just… wasn’t sure what we wanted to call this. I mean I know we’re…” He rubbed at his neck more, face coloring more, “I know you’re mine and I’m yours but I--” He shrugged, “Wasn’t sure what t’ call this. Boyfriends? Significant others?”

Genji had to shove his face in a pillow to keep himself from groaning at Jesse. He was usually so smooth. Well sort of. Stupid pickup lines aside.

“You are the person that I am romantically inclined toward. You’re the only person I want to be physically close to. If we separate from the group, I’m going with you. Everything I have, I will give to you and I have faith that you would do the same for me. If I needed to, I would build shelter for myself with the intention of sheltering you too--” He shrugged, “Whatever you would name that is what we are.”

The cowboy ducked his head to hide the red on his face, but his ears and neck betrayed him, “I uh--” Boy howdy, this boy sure knew how to make him go beet red in the face in a hurry. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it several times, trying to find words. “Honestly, I don’t need a word for me so much. Just fer other people. Like when ya introduce someone and say like, ‘This is my boyfriend ‘r fiance ‘r whatever’. ‘S all I want the word for. I know how I feel. I don’t need it for me.”

“Boyfriend, I think.” Hanzo wasn’t sure. “I’ll just introduce you as ‘my man’ and they can take it as they will.”

“Fine by me,” Jesse shrugged. “Like I said, it ain’t for me.” His stomach grumbled and he looked down in surprise before seeming to realize that he hadn’t taken a single bite of food. He frowned and then glanced at the bowl before grabbing a bite of food. “Probably would help t’ remember t’ eat. Can’t be yer man if I waste away from not eatin’.”

“Well, you  _ could, _ but I’d be a widower.” Hanzo chuckled, sipping his tea with a grin.

A shocked expression crossed Jesse’s features and then he barked out a laugh. “Well can’t have that neither!” He crowed and then took another bite.

“Alright, everyone who’s getting in the trucks better get on out!” Jack called as he walked back toward the sleeping quarters, patting on the door to the bathroom as he did. “We’re going to get moving, so if you’re getting out, speak now or forever hold your peace.” The older man looked down at the pair that had awkwardly slotted themselves onto the bottom bunk and smiled. “I figured you two would be in here resting after watching all night.”

Hanzo nodded, taking his spoon again and helped Jesse finish up the oatmeal. “I’m very tired.”

“Who’s gonna be watchin’ the trucks then, if me n’ Hanzo are gonna be sleepin’?” Jesse frowned. He wasn’t as tired after his nap, but Hanzo  _ was  _ tired and Jesse wasn’t just going to leave him.

“Genji’s going to be sitting where Gabe was, I’m going to be where I was and Gabe is taking your spot.” Jack shrugged. “I’m not dumb enough to think that if Hanzo’s out of commission that you’re going out. You and he can just do night watch.”

Jesse snorted, “Well, you’d be right. I ain’t movin’ unless I have to.” He scooped another bite into his mouth and was quiet for a moment, “Speakin’ of Genji, ya seen ‘im?”

Genji popped his head up long enough to shake it and hold a finger to his lips. He didn’t want those two to know that he’d been up there the entire time. He didn’t want to ruin their moment or possibly hurt Hanzo more. Of course, now he knew a little more why Hanzo had reacted the way he did, but he was still scared that he might mess something up if he revealed that he’d been up here the entire time.

Jack’s eyes landed on Genji for a fraction of a second before moving on to keep looking around the room. “I assume he’ll show up. I haven’t seen him around yet, but I just got in.”

“Aight, well. If ya see ‘im, tell ‘im I’d like t’ talk to him. Nothin’ bad, just a chat.”

Genji chewed his lip. He knew it wasn’t bad but, Hanzo was Jesse’s boyfriend and he was just-- Well Jesse had called him his little brother, but that didn’t mean that Jesse wouldn’t take Hanzo’s side.

“Can do.” Jack grunted, putting a hand out for the now empty oatmeal bowl. Hanzo handed it to him and then crawled back to the back wall of the bottom bunk. “I’ll close the screen for you, if you wanna get in there. It doesn’t like to close completely from the inside and the light can get in.” Absolute bullshit, but it’d give him a good excuse to get Genji out of there.

“I’d appreciate that, thanks.” Jesse grinned as he flopped down and rolled over to face Hanzo. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know how Jack knew that, but it was good to know all the same.

Above them, Genji mouthed several 'thank you’s as he slowly crept across the bed and then snuck out of the room after Jack had closed the screen. 

The old soldier’s purposely loud footfalls kept the ninja’s soft ‘tip tap’ from being audible to those in the bed below. “You owe me, kid.” Jack joked, reaching out to sling an arm around Genji’s shoulders while they walked.

Genji gave a soft ‘ _ Pffft’,  _ “Name your price.” He didn’t want to know what would have happened if they’d found out he was eavesdropping, even if it had been on total accident. He  _ had  _ been there first.

Jack guided him into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl so he could get himself and Genji some food. “I need you to ask Max what's wrong. I'm putting him in the truck with you. It’s more than how many people are around but I can’t figure out what.” He got very quiet when Max returned from the outside with dirty oatmeal bowls and began scrubbing them in the sink and humming under his breath.

Genji nodded and mouthed, ‘Deal.’ Besides, if he was sitting with Max, they could snuggle up and that would be nice. He wasn’t sure how he’d get Max to talk about it, but he’d figure it out.

Jack pat him on the back and then headed out the door.

“Max, can you have those done in a few minutes?” Ingrid asked while she wiped down the table and began to fold the leaves up so the pop out could be slid back in. “I can call one of the girls in to help you.”

His head shook, a 'no’ even though he was singing to himself and bobbing at the sink. "I got it." Since the oatmeal was fresh, it didn't take him long to scrub the bowls out.

“Are you sure?” Ingrid asked, blinking a few times. He never looked down at the sink, which she supposed made sense considering he was blind and using touch to find any food residue, but how could he know how many bowls he had left?

He nodded, ignoring her in favor of not losing whatever groove he had at the sink.

Genji tilted his head. Max was doing fine though or at least, he seemed just fine to Genji. He moved to sit at the table, listening to Max hum.

_ “Big wheel keep on turnin’, Proud Mary keep on burnin’...” _

Genji tried to place the song and then frowned. He wasn’t sure he knew it. “Hey Max?” He asked after waiting to make sure there was nothing in Max’s hands in case he startled, “What song is that? I… I don’t know it.”

“Proud Mary. Tina Turner. Well, Creedence Clearwater Revival first but she’s the one that made it popular.” Max chuckled, starting to stack all the bowls up in the cabinets so that when they rolled out, nothing would break. “I can’t believe y’ don’t know Tina. She’s a  _ Queen.” _

“In my defense,” Genji protested, “I was in Japan for most of my younger life in a very traditional family. You should have seen their faces when I dyed my hair green.” He stood to go lean on the counter, “I’m only here because my father, Hanzo and I were on business here when the omniums started spitting out those… nanites or whatever.”

Max snorted, looking over his shoulder slightly to Genji’s right. His eyes corrected to the obvious dark eyebrows against the man’s pale skin. “You had green hair?” He chuckled and started to find his way out of the trailer tentatively. Max didn’t know his way around very well so the stairs down were taken slowly and one at a time. “Tina Turner, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke--” He made it to the ground and tentatively toed his way out to make sure it was even. There wasn't a lot of contrast so it was hard to tell. “These are names ya oughta know.”

Genji chuckled as he followed Max, ready to catch him if he fell but otherwise leaving him be. As far as he could tell, Max did just fine without a lot of help. Sure, sometimes he needed a helping hand, but not as much as others seemed to think. “I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe when all of this is over I can find holos of their music!”

“Vinyl, Genji.  _ Vinyl.” _ Max kept moving across the mostly even cement until he got to the dually where he was promptly informed by Brigitte--who had taken up residence in the back--that he was supposed to sit with Genji in the Deuce. So he turned and headed for the big green monstrosity that was the Deuce. “You gotta get this stuff on the original medium.”

“Where am I going to get a  _ vinyl _ ?” Genji squawked, “Especially  _ now _ ?”

“Well,” Max shrugged, “Provided mah house is still standing and youse could spirit us up to Newark, we could listen t’ mine.”

“Deal.” Genji grinned as he hopped up in the back of the deuce and held out his hand in case Max wanted a hand up. “Careful coming up, the step up is about chest level,” He warned. “The next one after is the tailgate. You’ll have to pull yourself up.”

“Got it.” Max reached out first for the truck to get a judge of exactly where on his chest this step was. Once he had it, and had bumped into the hand Genji was offering him enough to realize what it was, he put one foot up, grabbed the tailgate and used Genji’s hand to stabilize on the way up. Next the tailgate. It took more feeling around before he let go of Genji and moved up and over the gate before settling in the back. “This thing was made fer giants." 

“No kidding.” Genji agreed, “I need a running start to get up here.” But, the same height they were complaining about also kept them safe from zombies. “At least the zombies will have the same trouble?”

“Mm, that’s true.” Max chuckled before closing his eyes as he leaned back on the boxes. Jack and Gabe had made quite the nest back here with blankets and pillows strewn out to pad the bottom of the bed and the cargo. He found the nearest blanket that was shucked away and rolled himself into a tiny burrito. 

As the trucks got moving, the higher whines mixing into the rumble of the engines, Genji settled himself down into one of the blankets with his wakizashi next to him. He wished he could just talk to Hanzo, but maybe talking to Jesse would be easier. Even if he knew that the cowboy would take Hanzo’s side, maybe he could explain. Hanzo always gushed about how well Jesse listened. He sighed and wiggled, trying to get comfortable on the hard steel bed, grabbing another blanket and a pillow to try to soften the bumps as they got back onto the road. Ingrid was a more thoughtful driver than Jack was, but the road was still old and worn and so was the suspension on the deuce and the ride was only marginally less bumpy and more comfortable.

Farther down the road, he found himself trying to figure out how to find out what was bothering Max and everytime he thought of something, opened his mouth and then decided better of it, he sighed and shifted his weight to bring one of his now three blankets tighter around him.

“Spit it out.” Max finally drawled after the third or fourth time, looking out of his burrito to raise an eyebrow at Genji. “I ain’t gotta see youse to  _ hear _ youse over there grindin’ the knobs off yer cogs.” He sat up and ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. “Somethin’ is under yer skin. What is it?”

“I’m worried about Hanzo. I tried apologizing last night and I thought that offering a formal apology would make it better but it just upset him more and I just… I don’t know what to do.” He sighed and wrung his hands together. “I overheard him say it’s because it reminded him of… of the clan and that he’d never wanted to see me bow to someone like that, least of all him but I just… I wanted him to know I was sincere.”

“Sounds like he loves youse very much.” Max shrugged, grimacing as they hit another pothole in the road. To Ingrid’s credit, she did slow down so that they didn’t hit the really rough patches at full speed but there was only so much she could do. These military trucks had suspension in spades but it wasn’t designed to haul people.

Genji sighed, and then leaned against the tarp. Maybe he did need someone like Jesse to listen. Hanzo always seemed to feel better afterward. “What do you do when you’re upset?”

“Me?” Max laughed, though it seemed as if he was laughing mostly out of shock than amusement. “A better question would be what do I do when I’m not upset.” He shook his head and readjusted. “I like to sing. It helps me disassociate.”

Genji frowned, “You were singing this morning…” He turned to face Max, even though Jack had already told him Max was upset, it was easier to just ask this way, “Is something bothering you?”

“Well, the gig’s up, huh? Got me all figured out, don’tcha?” Max snipped a little harsher than he’d meant to before closing his eyes to rub at his temples. “‘m sorry. You don’t need that kind of shit offa me.” He laid back and reached up with one hand, spreading the fingers wide while squinting at it as if that would help it come into focus. It didn’t, but that wasn’t a surprise. He’d lived longer legally blind than he had seeing. “If I told youse I was a spy, would’ja believe me?”


	17. Chapter 17

Genji reeled back at the snap, turning his head away because he wasn’t emotionally capable of dealing with those kind of reactions right now. Maybe if Hanzo wasn’t mad at him and he had slept better last night... He tightened a blanket around him, mumbling an apology under his breath. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked. He closed his eyes when Max apologized and then glanced away when he continued. A spy. The word stuck in his head, souring on his tongue and he frowned. That tone was too genuine to be fake. He curled up farther in his blankets and turned away from Max. He had hurt Hanzo snapping about a relationship that was… That he-- He’d poured all of his time into helping Max and making him comfortable and for what? “Why?” He snapped.

“Because she can fix my eyes.” Max continued squinting at the hand, turning his wrist slowly and then letting it fall. “She can fix my eyes and she has a pair of cyber ears. When a doctor says ‘I can make all your pain go away, for the price of some information’... you just ask her how high to jump.”

Genji sighed heavily. On one hand, part of him couldn’t blame Max but he was still upset. None of it had been real. He’d been played. He was so stupid. Why didn’t he see it? He was so desperate for a happy ending just like Hanzo that he’d just blindly gotten attached. He was so _stupid_. “So what, you’re just going to follow us around and tell her exactly where we are? Why shouldn’t I just tell Jack?”

Max snorted through his nose, as amused as it was filled with irony. “There’s two problems with yer plan there, sparky. One, Jack already knows. I told him when he saved my ass. I begged that man to leave me out there to die--I was fuckin’ delirious--and he took me in anyway. Good luck with that. Secondly, I think she’s convinced we’re dead. One day I think I’m in her good graces, the next she’s sending half of Denver to beat down the front door.”

Why would Jack do that? “So what now then? Why stay here? Your job is done right?” Genji huffed, upset at Jack for allowing this guy in and upset at himself for falling for one of oldest tricks in the book.

“I stayed here because I’m fuckin’ invested in youse ‘n these people, Genji.” Max snarled, crossing his arms over his chest. “I had t’ make a decision as t’ whether me bein’ able to hear music again was worth gettin’ a whole lotta good people killed ‘n I decided that it wasn’t. She figured that shit out ‘n now I’m just as S.O.L as the rest ‘o youse.”

Genji’s face twisted and he gritted his teeth as Max tried to tell him that he was _invested_ in them. That he actually cared about them. He opened his mouth to retort and then snapped it shut. His arm snapped out to drag his wakizashi close to him in case Max tried to pull something and fell quiet. As much as he wanted to yell at Max and be angry, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. What if Jack took Max’s side? What if suddenly, his place _did_ become negotiable? Jack had let a spy in, who was to say he hadn’t been lying.

The silence was as telling as words, especially in Genji’s case. The way he drew up and grabbed the sword was enough for Max to also be scooting away and holding his own knife close. He wasn’t subtle about it either, he _wanted_ Genji to know that he was armed and he was going to protect himself.

“I can hear youse steamin’ from the ears over there,” Max was cautious with the tone of his voice and the words he chose. “If I had anywhere to go, I’d leave t’ give youse some peace of mind but I don’t. I played her 'cause Jack told me to and now if I leave youse guys in the middle of bum fuck nowhere without food, clothes, or shelter then I’mma die and as convenient as that’d be for _youse,_ it’s not such a great plan for me. Yanno? I’ll split once we make it t’ Houston.”

He heard him scoot away, but that was more than fine by him. The farther Max was away from him, the harder it would be for him to shove _another_ knife in his back. He sighed, frowned and then hugged his wakizashi closer. He worked his jaw, “I don’t want you dead. Probably the only good thing that will come out of whatever--” He gestured at the two of them, “Whatever I thought this was.”

“Well thanks fer bein’ such a stand up guy.” Max snorted, curling up tighter against the edge of the truck where he had wedged himself. “I just can’t believe no one’s caught on yet. I’ve always been a shit fuckin’ actor.” He grumbled before reaching out to start feeling his way over the gas tank. Maybe if he could get to the other side he could get Jack’s attention in the cab.

“Everyone trusts Jack and Jack trusted you, so no one even thought twice.” Genji mumbled, curling up as tight as he could manage with his wakizashi in his arms. The anger was ebbing and the hurt was setting in. He didn’t want Max to hear him cry so he just bit his knuckle and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Ever wonder if there innit some kinda reason Jack trusts me?” Max snarked on his way over the fuel tank, groaning as he fell onto the boxes on the other side. _That_ hurt. “You know what, never mind. Youse’s already got ideas in yer head and I don't wanna hear shit.” He pulled himself closer to the cab until he could finally start banging on it till the driver began slowing down. Max was humming to himself again, more aggravated than anything else as he bounced his knee and waited. _"Let me call you sweetheart..."_

Genji didn’t move, he just bit down harder on his knuckles. Maybe if he was lucky, no one would squint at him too hard. Max couldn’t see him shaking and trying to hold it together. Max didn’t need to know that Genji had actually started falling for him, or that it had hurt enough that he was crying. He didn’t need to know.

The truck began to slow down as Max made his way back to the back of the deuce, waiting there at the back of the truck. “Fer what it's worth, Genji?” Max looked over as they came to a stop. “I knew you'd find out and I wanted youse t’ hear it from me. I figured you deserved that much fer how good you've been to me.” He waited till he heard the dually stop too and jumped out of the back of the deuce with surprising agility, stretching out and then deciding that he could ride in the trailer. Fuck road regulations. He proceeded to cuss everything out in Italian while slamming the door shut on the trailer because that wasn't how he'd wanted it to go.

Genji let out the smallest whimper and his grip tightened on his sword. He was sure that he was leaving deep marks in his skin but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Once Max was gone, he stopped trying to hold it in. Who would hear him anyway?

“Genji?” When a voice came to the back of the Deuce it was Hanzo. Max had woken him up with the cursing. Now, Hanzo didn't understand a word of Italian but Max was an equal opportunity cusser and there was enough in English for Hanzo to figure out that something must have happened with Genji. Since they were stopped anyway, the group was using it as a bathroom break.

Hanzo pulled himself up enough to look into the back of the Deuce before sighing as he hauled himself into the truck. “Genji, what happened? Otouto..” Maybe words weren't the right thing here. He shuffled himself into the corner beside his brother and wrapped his arms around the man like Jesse had taught him to.

“First I yelled at you even though you didn’t do anything wrong and I was just so overwhelmed and I just wanted what you had and…” He sucked in a deep breath around a sob, “And then I tried to apologize and I fucked that up and I’m sorry Hanzo. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just-- It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry.” He let go of his wakizashi and flipped around to cling to Hanzo. “I just want my brother back.”

“Did I go somewhere?” Hanzo asked softly, petting Genji's hair with one hand and holding him tight with the other. “I didn't mean to freeze up at the apology. I'm sorry. It was a good apology.”

Genji snorted through his laughter at the question and squeezed Hanzo closer. “I mean… You were always around Jesse… and I’m _really_ glad you found each other. He’s really good for you and you smile and talk so much around him and it’s the cutest thing…” He looked up at Hanzo, “We don’t talk like we used to.”

“I’m sorry,” Hanzo frowned softly, resting his head on the other’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just--” He tilted his lips and pulled Genji into another squeeze. “I thought I was losing you too. With all the time you were around Max… and then you don’t ever yell at me but--” He stopped. “I just need to spend more time with you. I will, I promise.”

“It doesn’t have to be all the time. I mean... “ He sucked in a breath, “It doesn’t even have to be right now. I hurt you and your feelings are important, Hanzo. I’m sorry I yelled. It-- I didn’t even mean to direct it at you. I just saw what happened the last time all of the moms started meddling and then Brigitte wanted all the gossip… I didn’t even know what Max and I were. I… still don’t.”

“I’m sorry for being so obvious with Jesse,” Hanzo was careful and quiet when he said that. “I know you’re lonely and I was selfish.” He just wanted Genji to be happy too but… he wanted him to be the right kind of happy.

“No, you were happy and you totally deserve it! It’s not your fault the world is like this. I’m glad you found someone in all of this that is genuinely a good person and understands you.” He grinned up at Hanzo. “You totally deserve it. I’m the one being selfish…”

“Jesse taught me--well, Jack taught me--the importance of not only showing people but _saying_ things too. I know I'm the worst for not telling people what I want or need but I wanted you to know: I love you, otouto. You're my best friend.” Hanzo stumbled on 'love’, still awkward and out of step with the sentiment but it was genuine. “I want you to be happy too. I hope that you and Max stop fighting and get along again soon.”

Genji smiled and then his nose wrinkled in a cute expression, “I… I love you too, Hanzo.” The word was strange to him too, “That’s so weird. I don’t get how people just… say it. Can we just--” His breath hitched on the well-wishing and he faltered for a moment and then he continued, “I’m glad we’re best friends. It’s really lonely without someone you know you can always count on.”

It was lucky for Genji that his brother wasn't sure of his hunches or else with the way Hanzo's eyes narrowed slightly, he would be interrogating Genji already. Something seemed off about it but Hanzo just squeezed him and tried not to think of it. “This makes us 10-year-old girls, you know. Besties who hug and talk about boys and such.”

“Good.” Genji grinned, thankful that Hanzo either hadn’t noticed or wasn’t questioning the pause. “We’ll be the best 10-year-old girls. Maybe if we’re lucky we can find some hair dye and makeup and get manis and pedis… Do you think one of the girls knows how to do manis and pedis?”

“Do not test your luck,” Hanzo growled in a soft warning but was smiling so that Genji would know it was a joke. The older Shimada heard the trucks starting up again and realized that they'd be setting off soon. Ah, well there was no shame in sitting with Genji. Jesse would understand. “...do they still rub your feet with the pedicures?” Hanzo had caved into Genji once and that was all he remembered. That and his feet had been baby soft.

Genji stuck his tongue out at his older brother with a _'Nyeh!’_ and then nodded, “I'm sure they do!”

“I hope so. That was the best part.” Hanzo didn’t like to be touched by strangers 99% of the time but a good foot rub sat solidly in that other 1%. He yawned so hard it brought tears, blinking to try and stay awake. They hadn’t been driving for more than a few hours when Max’d forced the group to stop and he was still extremely tired. “I’m going to go back to sleep, _otouto.”_

“Sleep sounds… really nice.” Genji mumbled. “Like, really, really nice. It was hard to sleep last night… too hot.”

“There is nothing stopping you.” Hanzo chuckled. They were back there to keep any zombies out of the truck but once it got moving fast enough, their usefulness was essentially negated. So he laid down and got comfortable with his back to Genji, asleep nearly as soon as he closed his eyes.

\---

They’d been on the road for what felt like forever. The path was relatively clear, they’d had to go across to the oncoming lanes to bypass a few wrecks and the deuce had been forced to nudge a couple cars the rest of the way off the road here or there but they were making good time. At this rate, they’d be in Houston the next day.

“We’re almost in Texas,” Jack noted to Ingrid as he looked at the map. He’d expected a lot more problems but this hadn’t been as bad a drive as he’d thought it would be.

“I’m ready to take another break.” Ingrid sighed, stretching as much as she could while driving the huge truck. There was no cruise control on this old monstrosity so she didn’t even get to fully relax while they moved. “My back is really starting to hurt.”

“I can radio back to the dually and ask them if they’re ready to stop too?” Jack offered. They’d been going for an upwards of 3 more hours and he could understand why she needed to take a break but they hadn’t wanted to stop in the middle of such a good stretch like this. The upper portion of New Mexico had been completely cleared off and Jack had enjoyed the time of just driving without having to stop as much.

“Please, if you--” Ingrid paused and leaned forward to squint out the windshield. The sun in these parts was absolutely blinding but one side she could see a ‘Welcome to Texas’ sign faded out and right on the road was a huge pileup. “Well, you’re going to have to tell them to stop anyway. We’ve got a blockage.”

“Damn,” Jack sighed, grabbing the walkie from the dash and called over it. “Deuce to Dually, over.” The truck was already starting to slow down and prepare to stop, which he could tell Naomi was doing too in the side mirror beside him.

“Dually here. What's going on up there, Jackie?” Gabe couldn't quite see around the massive truck in front, only that there was what looked like a scrapyard or something off the road that he could only barely see the fence to.

“We’ve got a wreck or something. Hard to tell. It’s a lot of shit strewn all over the road, over.” Jack returned as Ingrid pulled to a stop. She always stopped slow enough that the dually behind them could slow down with the huge trailer too.

“Great…” Gabe dragged the word out, “That's _exactly_ what I wanted to get out of the truck for.” He huffed and then threw the door open once the dually rolled to a stop.

“You can always kiss your husband while you’re up here,” Jack snorted over the radio, throwing it into his back pocket as he got out and could just talk to Gabe in person.

“I _could_ do that I guess.” Gabe teased as he headed toward the front of the deuce.

The nearby brush had been allowed to grow heavy and thick, giving them a perfect place to hide. She squinted out from under her wide brimmed hat, looking over the group of trucks parked in front of their blockade. When she’d gotten the call over the short-wave saying that a bunch of big trucks were booking it across the northern portion of her domain, she’d been skeptical. The trucks were every bit as big as the report said and she nearly came out of the bushes with her boys when the front door opened…

And Jack _fucking_ Morrison got out.

Ashe put up a hand so that the others didn’t move while she watched the other trucks carefully. Another person got out of the big dually hauling a very nice horse trailer and that one was identified quickly as Gabriel Reyes. Shit. _Shit._ Both of them were there. She’d never been one to fangirl over the SEP program and war heroes but they were both there, live and in the flesh. Old flesh, but still. She didn’t want to tangle with those two. She’d seen the old holovids.

“Go from the back.” Ashe whispered over the radio. “They said there was someone stickin’ a rifle out the back. Get ‘em first.”

Her boys crept up to the back of the horse trailer low enough that the person inside wouldn’t see them before throwing the doors open. The women in back met the butt of the triplet’s rifles before they could do anything about it. It was as they were dragging them off that Ashe recognized that it was Ana Amari. “Damn, they all stayed together.” She remembered that right before everything went to hell, the holovids being broadcast had said that the dream team were out on a mission together near Colorado. It would make sense that they stayed together once it had gone south--if these three were here, where were the rest of them?

The dream team consisted of Jack Morrison, Gabriel Reyes, Ana Amari, Torbjorn Lindholm, Reinhardt Wilhelm, and Liao… however you say it. This was only three of the six--

“We got eyes on the cab?” Ashe asked into her radio, looking behind her. They had a sniper in a building keeping an eye on everything. “Big guys haven’t heard nothin’, right?”

 _“Negatory,”_ Her lookout called over the radio. _“They’re workin’ on the blockade. Cab has a woman innit. There’s somebody in the back seat too, but I ain’t gotta line ‘a sight.”_

“Work up through the horse trailer. I wanna make sure they got nobody to back ‘m up.” Ashe called through her radio. She watched the horse trailer rock sharply as something happened inside and then it quieted down. “Y’all alright in there?”

_“Peachy keen. We got a live one but he’s down for the count. There’s a blind kid in here too. He’s sayin’ he won’t give us no trouble.”_

“Just keep him quiet and get him away from the truck.” Ashe instructed and waited for her boys to cycle around. The hardest part was going to be getting everyone out of the dually without one of them alerting the men in the front. Lucky for her, the rumble of both trucks was more than loud enough to mask most of it.

Ashe began to creep up to the door, peeking into the side mirror to look inside… which was when she saw the little kid. _Shit._ She didn’t sign up for no kids. She squat back down beside the truck. “We gotta do this careful, there’s a kid in there. I’mma get his attention, I need y’all t’ pull the driver out ‘n get a gun on the one in back or else he’ll spook.”

_“Got it.”_

God bless them triplets. Dumber ‘n a box ‘a rocks--overly dramatic too--but good men.

Ashe counted down over her radio before dropping it onto the ground and opening the door just as the triplets opened the driver side door and drug the woman out of the seat. It wasn’t Liao, like Ashe had been expecting. She didn’t recognize the woman at all but with this hero complex, it didn’t surprise her that they’d picked up extra strays.

“Hey there, lil’ boy.” Ashe smiled sweetly at the kid in the seat. She’d left the door open so that there was a shield between her and the men up front. “How you doin’ this fine mornin’?” She pulled out a bit of peanut brittle from her back pocket and offered it to him.

“I’m hot.” He admitted and brightened up instantly to take the peanut brittle from her.

“It is mighty hot out here, ain’t it?” Ashe chuckled. He was a cute kid. “What’s your name?” Over his shoulder she could see a girl that looked enough like the kid to be either his sister or maybe a very young mother with her hands up as she looked down the barrel of the triplet’s rifle.

“My name is Thyr.” He smiled, continuing to nibble on the brittle. When she looked over his shoulder, he looked over hers and that smile lit up. “An omnic!”

Ashe glanced back at Bob who was doing his damndest to look innocent. He was _supposed_ to stay in the _truck._ He wasn’t very good at listening; half the time if she told him to stay put, he’d up and disappear. “Yeah, that’s my friend Bob. You wanna meet him? He’s real friendly.”

“Can I? My papa made robots. Is he scary like the ones in the stories?” Thyr asked and took her offered hand to hop out of the car.

“Yer daddy made robots?” Her mind started spinning. “Nah, Bob ain’t scary. He’s a real good boy. Was your daddy Torbjorn?”

“Yeah!” Thyr let go of her hand when she got close to Bob and laughed as the large omnic placed his tiny hat down on the child’s head.

“Where is he?” Ashe hazarded to ask, glancing back out of the truck where the triplets were still trying to extract the woman in the back of the truck.

“He died. Papa ‘n Uncle Reinhardt ‘n Liao all died a long time ago. When I wasn’t born yet.” Thyr let the peanut brittle drop from his lips and sniffed.

“Aw, baby doll. Sugar dumplin’ I didn’t mean t’ make you upset, ‘m sorry.” Ashe knelt down to brush his hair out of his face. “How can I make it up to ya? Bob can let you ride on his shoulders!”

Bob blinked in confusion before nodding to agree with her.

Ashe was about to hand Thyr off to her butler when a high pitched shriek rang over the truck and she knew the gig was up.

“Jack! Gabe! Hanzo! HELP!” Brigitte screamed, fighting against those holding her until one of them slammed the butt of his rifle into the side of her face so hard her vision went black and she slumped to the ground.

Gabe whipped around when Brigitte screamed, glancing at Jack with an alarmed expression. “Raiders?!”

Jack was already pulling his rifle up as Brigitte’s limp body was being carried away. Hanzo pulled himself out of the back of the truck but was stared down by three men with guns pointed at his face. The ninja raised his hands slowly and stood against the back of the truck. “What do you want?!” He called. He could already see Thyr being held by a huge omnic off to the side and a woman that appeared to be their leader was leveling a rifle at him.

“That’s simple,” She smiled, “Everythin’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to CantBelieveItsNotGay who reminded me I forgot to post a chapter. Again. -Lad


	18. Chapter 18

Genji frowned, bringing his wakizashi closer while not making a sound. He drew it slowly. Maybe he could catch these raiders by surprise.

It took some patience before finally someone started climbing up, a momentary look of surprise on his face when Genji slit his throat and the raider fell backwards off the truck with a gurgle. Not even seconds later, a bullet ricocheted off the truck bed and punched a hole through the canvas cover. 

Genji's hands popped up in surrender as his wakizashi clattered to the bed.

Ashe strode forward and trained her rifle on the ninja currently coming out of the back of the truck and watched him carefully. “Tie him up.” She demanded, waiting until the he was well tied up enough that even  _ a ninja _ couldn’t get loose. “I oughta thank ya, shankin’ that man gets me out of a lotta trouble.” She chuckled.

Hanzo glared back at his brother from where he’d also been tied up and thrown on the ground. He didn’t say anything, but his opinion on Genji killing one of them was clear. 

“So, a buncha ninja, huh?” She asked, kneeling down to look at the pair. “Who brings a sword to a gunfight? What’re you plannin’ to do with that? Can ya outrun a bullet?”

“We can deflect them.” The elder brother grit out from between his teeth. 

Ashe laughed, and then shoved the barrel of her rifle up under his jaw. “Why don’t you try to deflect this, sugar?”

“Point taken.” If looks could kill, she’d have been dead multiple times over.

Ashe jammed the barrel up a little higher just to make sure that he wouldn’t try anything before standing up and resting Viper over her shoulder. “Somebody get those two tied up.” She ordered, pointing at Gabe and Jack. The blond woman had already been ripped out of the driver’s seat of the deuce while they were held at gunpoint. 

“Boss? You might wanna see this.” One of the triplets called from where they were holding the other prisoners and caught her attention. 

“What is it?” Ashe asked, turning away from the two at the blockade to move closer to where they were keeping the other prisoners. 

“More like  _ who, _ boss. I think we’ve got Jesse McCree over here.” He responded. That got her attention. She trucked it over to where they had pulled up the sleeve on one of their captives to make sure he was bound tightly and revealed the tattoo and the burns. It was hard to tell what the original tattoo looked like between the fading ink and nasty burn scars, but the lock and skull--complete with an eyepatch over the left eye--were there… along with the telltale ‘1976’. “Well I never…”

“There’s somethin’ else, boss.” He said as he pointed to where their blind captive was nervously wringing his hands and feeling along Bob’s chest where her butler was keeping a protective arm around this defenseless kid. 

“What is it?” She asked, crossing her arms. 

_ “Eolas.” _ He murmured under his breath softly, reaching forward with both hands and eyes unfocused. At this distance she could see the foggy cataracts over both eyes making them appear blue. 

‘Eolas’ was  _ her _ codeword. So he was one of hers, then. 

“Untie him.” Ashe snorted, “He’s no threa--”

Gabe suddenly snarled and lunged forward with both of his shotguns, blasting an omnic henchman with possibly a few more shots than were strictly necessary. He felt the shot before he heard it, the crack of a rifle sounding long after his leg had already given out under him and the delayed pain seared up into his hip as his body finally caught up with what had happened. He grimaced as he gripped his shotguns and hoped someone else would come near so he could blast them too. He didn't even see where the shot had come from.

“Gabe--” Jack gasped out. He started to rush forward as Ashe approached the wounded soldier but a shot that was so close he could feel the  _ breeze _ on his face stopped him in his tracks.

“Well, well… what do we have here? A hero…” She chuckled. “I don’t much like heroes.”

“Yeah?” Gabe forced through his teeth, “Don’t worry. Feeling's mutual.” He lifted one of his guns to rid them of the trouble, only for the gun to drop as another shot punched through his upper arm.

“Quit shooting him!” Jack snarled, “Gabe, quit  _ provoking _ them.” 

“Your husband’s got a point.” Ashe smirked, “Speakin’ of which, was there ever any truth in that? I gotta know, it’s pretty high on my list of conspiracies. Prolly the only one I’ll ever get any closure to.”

Despite having been shot twice, there was a reason Gabriel Reyes had a reputation for being the devil himself. He grimaced and then raised his eyebrow, then his left hand to show off the ringless finger. He wasn't going to admit it and them use Jack against him.

Ashe watched him for a moment or two, glancing up at the way Jack was anxiously staring down at Gabe in worry before rolling her eyes. “Oh come on, y’all don’t think I’mma buy that, do ya?” She walked up to Jack who took a step back before reaching up to look over both of his hands. “I’ve been on this celebrity gossip for years, boys.  _ Years. _ I ain’t gonna let it go till I’ve found the truth.”

“I don’t know what truth you expect to find.” Jack grit out, barely keeping from strangling her with his bare hands. She had a huge coach gun pressed to his stomach and he wasn’t going to risk evisceration for it but still. 

“This truth.” Ashe crowed, finally catching the glint of chain around Jack’s neck and pulled out his tags--complete with the ring. “I gotta give it to y’all, it take somebody mean as  _ sin _ t’ take two bullets and still try to bullshit me.” She snorted, coming around to pull Gabe’s matching set out. “Oh, that’s cute as fuck.” Ashe cooed, actually taking the time to read the second set before rotating back to Jack. “They’re married  _ and _ they wear each other’s tags.”

Ashe glanced over her shoulder to grin at her crew, though they all seemed unimpressed with her bullshit. All save for the triplets who were fist pumping, cussing, and collecting on a long forgotten debt respectively. God bless ‘em.

“Alright y’all,” Ashe strut back to where her crew was pulling up behind the trucks with an old prison bus with room for all her new ‘recruits’. “Lets get ‘em squared away. Wouldn’t want  _ El Diablo _ here t’ bleed out.”

Gabe laughed, cold and harsh, “If a  _ Bastion _ couldn't kill me, neither can you.”

The woman smirked coldly, looking him over with a distant interest. “I’ve got friends in low places, we’ll figure somethin’ out.”

Gabe curled his lip with the most unimpressed expression, “Oooh, I'm  _ so scared... _ ”

“You should be.” Ashe glanced over her shoulder as she picked up a dropped military issue shortwave radio. She pulled the mouthpiece up and flicked it on. “Deadlock to Banshee.”

_ “Banshee here.” _

“You still payin’ out for bringin’ you the head of Gabriel Reyes?”

_ “Always.” _

\---

Gabe was separated from them and loaded into one beat up old pickup. Most of them were put in the prison bus and those who weren’t, Max, Jesse, and Thyr, were in the SUV with Ashe and her driver, Bob. 

“Where are we going?” Thyr asked nervously. He’d curled up against Max’s side during the ride back to the Deadlock’s new impromptu hideout and Max just wished he knew whether petting the child’s hair would make this better or worse. He decided on doing it and it seemed to gain him some brownie points with Ashe.

“Back to my home. Y’all ‘r family, right? Friend of my friend is a  _ good friend _ and Jesse back there’s practically a prodigal son!” Ashe smiled widely.

_ ‘Is that why you tied him up?’ _ Max considered asking but kept it to himself. Best not to stir the pot, lest he have to lick the spoon.

“What about me?” Thyr asked, calming down some when Max changed to slowly running his nails over the scalp. That helped him relax considerably.

“Awh, sweet thing, you’re just a baby. I got lotsa things for you to keep entertained with. I’ll take good care of you.” Ashe purred, reaching back to squeeze his little hand. “Want more candy?”

“Candy’ll rot his teeth.” Max said softly and  _ instantly regretted it _ as she cocked her coach gun in the front seat. 

“He likes candy.”

“So he does.” Max returned easily, snapping his mouth shut again. Lucky for him, Thyr didn’t recognize the unique way a coach gun chambered. Good thing too, last thing he needed was for the kid to make himself more work than he was worth to this crazy bitch.

Jesse grimaced, shifted and then groaned as he felt the rope on his wrists... and all the way up his arms. Whoever had tied him up had not wanted him loose. He got his answer with that familiar drawl talking to Max beside him. It  _ had _ to be her. Deadlock  _ had  _ to come a'knockin’. He finally opened his eyes, hissing at the light and instinctively tried to shade them.

“He lives!” Ashe crowed when she heard Jesse start to rouse in the back seat, turning so that she could look at him better. “You got big, Jess’! ‘N  _ hairy. _ Why didn’t you come home?” Straight to the point, though she always did like to get to the thick of it.

He was quiet for a long while, trying to stop the throbbing in his head. He'd forgotten what a rifle to the head felt like. Finally, his eyes flicked up. “What home? Arizona? Wasn't ever  _ my _ home 'n ya know it.”

“Now, Jesse. We were a  _ family…” _

Max tried not to be too obvious when he watched her, noticing the dangerous way she postured up when she said that, she reminded him of a house cat playing with it’s food.

“I looked for you for years, you know.” Ashe commented, turning back around and letting the back of her seat down so that it literally shoved Jesse back in his. “I went all the way up to Utah lookin’ for you. That’s why I’m in New Mexico.”

Jesse frowned and wiggled so that he wouldn't be quite so cramped. “I'm  _ touched. _ ” He retorted, lip curled up as if he'd stepped in something gross. 

She clicked her tongue, “‘Never saw you as a Benedict Arnold but,” Ashe glanced back, “Well, for the last twenty years I ain’t seen you at all. A lot can change in that time. You got bigger, I got meaner.”

“Oh, I’m plenty mean, Ashe. I've  _ always  _ been meaner'n you ever were.” Jesse growled, “I got some  _ perspective _ in Utah, 'n what yer offerin’? It don't appeal t’ me no more.”

“I’m flattered you think so, I musta’ done an  _ awful _ good job of convincin’ you that I was harmless if you've got that in your head.” She chuckled, pulling the lever to jam the chair further into his chest. 

They began to slow down as they pulled into what looked like a safe house. It was crawling in goods and the fact that they were coming in meant Ashe was planning on keeping them here. “Alright, boys. As fun as this conversation has been, I think it’s time we put an end to it.” She chuckled, getting out without raising the seat. 

As their captors got out, Max looked at Jesse and grit his teeth. “Could you quit pissin’ her off?”

“Me  _ existin _ ’ pisses her off, so no. I can't.” Jesse snapped back.

Max opened his mouth to bitch back but was cut off by the sound of the SUV door being pulled open. “Bob here’ll take you boys to the clubhouse. Jesse’s comin’ with me.” Ashe smirked, pulling the lever to let Jesse out from under the seat before pulling him out and jamming her coach gun right into his back. “Strut, cowboy.”

“Fuck you.” He growled.

“Try me, and I’ll shoot the pretty ninja.” She hissed, “I’ll start with each foot and make my way up.”

Jesse deadpanned at her, schooling his face so that she wouldn't see the panic that shot through his head. If Hanzo got shot because of him, he'd never forgive himself for it and if Genji got shot… well, he would have to live with that  _ and  _ losing Hanzo. Hanzo would never forgive him for getting his brother hurt because of stupid pride. He worked his jaw and then finally took a step forward. He couldn't get either of them shot.

“Atta boy, Jesse.” She chortled, clearly enjoying that. Ashe had him by the balls and she  _ knew it. _ That was the best part. “You always were predictable.”

Bob escorted Thyr and Max behind them. Max kept up with the large omnic that was surprisingly gentle when holding his hand. Thyr was keeping it together as well as he could but he started crying when Ingrid came off the prison bus with blood running down her temple from the butt of a rifle. “Mommy!”

Ashe glanced back. “Is that your momma?” She asked even as Thyr tried to climb down Bob to get to her. “Tommy!” She called to get the attention of the brute currently fighting Ingrid to get her inside. “Take her to the guest suite.” Ashe instructed, looking back at her other two ‘guests’. “A boy shouldn’t be away from his momma.”

Jesse curled his lip at her, cruel words caught on his tongue to avoid getting one of the brothers shot. A shove of the coach gun in his back prompted him to move.

They were almost to the room when shouting broke out behind them. By the sounds of it, someone had tried something. Jesse turned his head enough to see Hanzo defending Genji. Now, Jesse had known that Hanzo was a ninja. He'd even known that his man was a total fucking badass but there was not a single thing in the  _ world _ could have prepared him to watch Hanzo break a man's neck with his  _ thighs. _ He had to turn his head to stop the noise of appreciation, clearing his throat instead. He soon turned back when Ashe began to fire at the brothers. Hanzo was free and wreaking havoc upon those near him. Jesse snarled and threw his weight against Ashe, knocking her shot off. He was rewarded with a fist to the jaw before he hauled himself back up.

Hanzo landed on both feet with shuriken in his hands as if daring anyone to come near the group, snarling. Ashe took her rifle and fired eleven shots before jamming the hot barrel up against Jesse’s neck, causing the cowboy to grimace and suck in a sharp breath. She’d never get used to the smell of burning flesh but it got the fucking point across. “If you all don’t settle down, I’mma have t’ see just how many brands this boy can take.” Her eyes scanned over the group. When Hanzo took a step forward, she cocked the rifle and shot it at him.

The ninja moved on reflex and the shot ricochet off the butter-knife sized blade in his hand. She whistled lowly. “Well, y’all weren’t blowin’ smoke when you said you could reflect bullets.” Ashe could appreciate that--for all of a couple of seconds. “Bob! Do somethin’!”

Bob dropped Thyr and let go of Max, barreling into the fight to tackle Hanzo to the floor. Hanzo was strong but Bob was half a ton of omnic. He found himself quickly overpowered and on the ground while Ashe reloaded her gun and pointed it at each and every one of them. “Now, I’mma put y’all in these rooms and you’re gonna go in there real quiet like, you hear me? Every one of y’all that steps outta line is gonna be another brand on your friend. The more you piss me off, the nastier the place I’mma burn Jess.”

Hanzo’s upper lip curled up as Ashe opened one of the rooms and threw Jesse inside before locking it and dispensing the rest of the prisoners…

...all except for Genji. Thin, pretty, short and quietly being defended by his brother? That was Jesse’s type if she’d ever seen it. So she tossed him in with the man. “I brought yer boyfriend, McCree. Y’all’ve got a bed ‘n a toilet, ain’t I nice?”

“Yer a fuckin’ snake is what ya are.”

“Why Jesse, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said t’ me.” Ashe smiled widely before spinning Viper and shooting the man in the thigh. “Happy trails.” She shut the door behind herself and locked it.

Jesse gritted his teeth, dropping to the floor while Genji rushed over. “I'm...I'll be fine. Just… been a while since the last time I got shot. Jesus fuckin’--” he grimaced. “Can ya get yer hands loose 'n grab me a towel? Need some pressure on it.”

Genji wiggled his hands in front of Jesse's face and then scampered off to go find something to wrap Jesse's leg with, “Hold on just a second!”

“An’ something cold t’ go 'gainst my neck if ya can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload y'all! I've been at work all day and Ladi's got some stuff tying her up this week as well.


	19. Chapter 19

Brigitte’s head snapped around in alarm as the door shut behind them. “What was that?!” She looked back at Fareeha before pushing herself to her feet and ran to the door. “Did they just shoot someone?!” She beat her hands against the door, trying to pull it open by the knob and when it wouldn’t come open, she squared her shoulders and rammed against it, to no avail. Ashe had this entire place well fortified. There was no way she could just bust it open.

“Who did they shoot?” And _where_? Was it a mortal wound? Brigitte landed with her back against the door and slid down while holding her face with both bound hands. How were they going to get out of here?

“I don't know, sounds like it,” Fareeha mumbled softly, hoping that whoever had gotten shot would be okay. Maybe it was just a warning.

Brigitte pulled her knees closer to her chest and sniffed softly. “Everything was going so well…” She didn’t know what to believe any more. That crazy woman had taken her brother, Jesse and Max away. Why would she do that? “Isn’t this Jesse’s old gang?”

“I think so…” Fareeha nodded and then frowned. Was Jess in on it? Had he met back up with them on one of his long trips? No, he wouldn't do that to Hanzo…

“You don’t think that he… gave us up, do you?” Brigitte asked softly. She didn’t think so--she didn’t _want_ to think so. Jesse had always taken such good care of them. 

“I--” Fareeha worried her lip before continuing, “I don't know. I don’t think Jesse is that kind of person, but he's never been super social with the rest of us. Always kinda distant…” She didn’t want to think that Jesse would have gave them up, but how else would Deadlock have known? “Maybe? I don't know.”

“But twenty years is a long time just to dupe someone for a truck of random stuff--” Brigitte argued against it. “If he was an enemy, why didn’t he just take us after a good harvest? Or back when we actually had a fortress? Why kick us when we’re already down?”

“Maybe he only recently got back in touch?” The tone was sheepish, as if she didn't really believe it but was considering all the options just in case. Playing the devil’s advocate so that they could sort it all out. “Maybe it was too far?”

“That…” Brigitte inhaled and then chewed her lower lip. “It doesn’t seem right. He’s been out with the deuce on his own. If he wanted to rob us blind, he could’ve.” Unless the valuable part of them wasn’t their goods, it was the people. In the wilderness, two young girls were a hot commodity. Brigitte paled as she considered that. Whoever had been on the radio had been specifically interested in Gabe, though. “You don’t think they’re going to sell us, do you?”

That broke Fareeha from playing the devil’s advocate in a second. “Jess wouldn’t let that happen. He’s not like that,” She shook her head.

“If he was involved, why would they take us now, and not when we had more goods unless goods were never the point?”

“He’s not like that.” Fareeha repeated, more determined. Remember when there were those raiders that grabbed us? Jesse came after us. He was so worried, and kept checking on us to make sure we weren't hurt and gave us hugs…” Fareeha frowned. “I mean, he could be involved, maybe… but nothing adds up.” They’d considered all the options, Jesse had to be innocent, “He fought that one lady when she was shooting at Hanzo, and she burned him pretty bad.”

Brigitte nodded. It was easier for her to think that Jesse wasn’t involved than to think that he might have something to do with all of this. “I’m just scared, ‘Reeha. I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“Me too. I hope Gabe and whoever else they shot is okay.” She stared at the ground. Gabe had been shot twice, Jesse was burned again and someone else had been shot. She didn’t like any of this.

“Me too…” Brigitte sat there watching her feet for a while, letting herself bask in the helplessness of the situation before finally offering her hands up to Fareeha. “Could you untie me?”

“I can try,” Fareeha nodded as she wiggled her hands a bit to get the bindings further up her arm so she could work her hands.

\---

When he heard the shot ring out, Hanzo had backed himself up to behind the edge of the bed while pulling at the knots in his bindings. That sounded like an execution shot. None came after it and there were no sounds of pain that he could hear, leading him to believe that the person who had gotten shot was now very dead. 

He pulled at the knot harshly, working it free as he checked the door again. The first time they had tied him, it had been behind his back but once he’d managed to get himself free, the Deadlock lackie that had retied him had done it in front of him. That was likely just a formality because they couldn’t seriously think that they could keep him in.

Questions raced through his head as he worked the knots free, worrying about Jesse and his brother and wondering who had gotten shot. If it was a killing blow, and it seemed like it, who had been the one to die? Probably Genji, if he was being totally honest. His brother had a knack for pissing off the wrong people.

Best not to think about it. He didn't let himself dwell on who it might have been; there was no time for mourning right now.

Hanzo got the knots free and stood up, rubbing his wrist before starting to scan his eyes over the room. Surely there was a way out, right? There were no bars on the windows and even while he searched the room for furniture he could take apart, most of it had been bolted to the floor. It was a comfortable prison, but still very much a prison.

“Hey, kid.” Jack’s voice filtered through the vent and Hanzo nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn’t been expecting to hear anyone. The archer fell against the nearest wall and held his chest, trying to gain composure before answering him.

“Yeah?”

“What do you see in your room?” Jack asked, prompting Hanzo to glance around again. When they put him in this room, they’d stripped him down to as little as possible to prevent another escape so Hanzo was in his pants and socks. He supposed he should be content that they hadn’t left him in his underwear.

“A bed, a night stand, a lamp that has been epoxy glued to the stand that is bolted to the floor---” Hanzo sighed before sitting on the bed.

“Do you have anything sharp on you?” Jack asked as a clattering sound came from the vent. He’d pulled his side free.

“No, they took all the knives I got from Genji. I think Stormbow and my arrows are still in the trailer.” Hanzo sighed, shaking his head. There wasn’t much he could do right now.

“Shame.” Jack huffed, getting off of whatever he’d stood on so that his face was level with the vent. “If you find anything you can pull up, tell me. I’m going to keep working over here.”

“What’re you even doing, Jack?” Hanzo asked. He was curious. Gabriel had such a strong faith in his husband and his ability to think his way out of anything; Hanzo couldn’t help but wonder what all must have happened to make him trust Jack without question.

“I’m going to get this door open.” The old man grumped. The wall wasn’t very thick, Hanzo could hear him walking around and rattling various bits of furniture to look for things he could use.

“How, though?” Hanzo asked, deciding to get up and start doing the same. They couldn’t get out of here if they gave up the fight halfway through. If Jack was still working, he should be too.

“Not sure yet. I’ll keep you posted.” Something clattered through the vent. He looked inside and could just barely see something coppery glimmering past the steel slatting. It took some doing but he finally got the penny out. 

"What's this for?" Hanzo asked as he turned it in his fingers. 

"Unscrew the vent with it. You can hand me things you find like that." Jack explained as he dumped his mattress on the floor and tried to rip into the box spring for supplies.

If anyone could get them out of this, it would be Jack.

\---

Even though Genji had gotten the bullet out, and Jesse's leg was wrapped, the cowboy was not doing well. There was no way to properly dress the wound and stop the bleeding with what they had. Between the pain and the blood loss, Jesse was for the most part, only semi-conscious.

Genji was puttering around the room, hiding anything that might be useful to them, like the blade they hadn't found that had not only gotten Genji free but also gotten the bullet out of Jesse's leg. Towels lay strewn across the floor, some soaking up the blood in the carpet and others cut into strips as Genji tried to figure out how best to wrap Jesse's leg.

The lock on the door began to rattle as someone inserted a key from the outside. The first thing through the door was the barrel of Ashe’s gun as she surveyed the room, making sure she wasn’t about to get jumped by the ninja. The second thing that entered was her large Omnic friend. Bob blinked and waved at them, sitting on the bed as if nothing was wrong but the huge guns on his forearm promised a lot of pain if either of them stepped out of line.

Ashe walked in and whistled at all the blood, raising an eyebrow. “Well, musta clipped an artery. Look at you, Jess’. Bleedin’ like a stuck pig.” She smirked, training the gun on Genji instead.

A tall red headed woman walked into the room with her head held high and both hands behind her back. “I _trust_ that this is a worthwhile endeavor? Do not waste my time.”

“It’s worthwhile. Heal ‘im up, doc.” Ashe snorted, gesturing to Jesse on the ground.

The doctor curled her lip up in disdain before kneeling beside them both and pressing her left hand to the wound on his thigh. A bright flash of yellow light erupted from it before she stood up and smeared the blood on Ashe’s shoulder. “There.”

“Ay!” Ashe griped, looking at the bloody handprint on her white shirt. “I just bought that!”

“Pity.” The doctor continued walking, not so much as batting an eyelash or looking back at Ashe. She had done her part.

Genji didn't move as the strange red-headed woman healed Jesse's leg far faster than anything he'd seen in over a decade. On one hand, he was glad because that meant that Jesse wouldn't bleed out in the next few hours, but on the other, he knew better than to think that it didn't have a purpose. If fact, growing up in the clan made him almost sure that Ashe was planning something. Something very bad.

“You take real good care of him, now Darlin’...” Ashe chuckled and stood up, walking to the door. “‘Cause when he comes back around, I’mma wanna know all about Utah and why he didn’t feel the need t’ bring me back my property.” She tipped her hat in a cheap mimic of hospitality before heading out the door. It seemed that her omnic friend, Bob, would be staying in there with them. He blinked a few times before giving a cheery wave to Genji.

So that's what that was about? Genji frowned before moving to the cowboy's side to check on him. Jesse didn't seem any better, despite the wound being gone. He hoped they hadn't been too late. He turned to look at the omnic that was waving at him, brows furrowing in confusion. Hesitantly, he raised his hand and wiggled his fingers back.

Bob closed his eyes and waved again as if that simple motion was enough to please him. The omnic stood up and ambled over, blinking at Jesse before taking off his tiny hat and placing it on the man’s head. Then he knelt down and picked the cowboy up in an easy shoulder and knee carry to place him on the bed. The hat was returned and Jesse received a gentle pat on the chest.

Genji lifted his hand in protest and then relaxed when Jesse was set down on the bed. He smiled at the omnic and settled down beside Jesse. “Thank you.”

Bob’s eyes closed and tilted up as he seemed rather pleased with himself and Genji’s thanks. He reached down and pat Jesse’s shoulder lightly before settling in as if to wait for him to wake up.

It was a pity that the omnic worked for Ashe. It seemed genuinely sweet and already, it was growing on Genji. He scooted towards Bob, encouraged by the omnic’s seemingly gentle nature.

Bob appropriately wrapped one arm around the tiny ninja and placed his hat on the top of Genji’s head for good measure.

It took some time before Jesse woke, but finally, the cowboy groaned and opened his eyes. He saw Genji first and cracked a small smile. “Hey there, partner. Glad t’ see ya in one piece.” His eyes flicked over to Bob, “Eeeey, Bob. Long time no see, buddy.” The cowboy’s eyes were unfocused, but he seemed coherent enough. He reached out and then started to try to push himself up.

Bob perked right up and helped Jesse sit up while blinking in concern.

“Atta boy, thanks.” Jesse grinned, and then leaned towards Bob, “You always were my favorite omnic.”

His eyes closed completely in happiness. He reached out and hugged Jesse, squeezing him close and patting his head with one hand.

Genji gave a soft squeal, covering his mouth. These two were adorable. Oh, he wished Hanzo was here to see.

The omnic leaned back and looked Jesse over, perking up and closing his eyes as if smiling widely a few times before taking his hat back. Once Jesse seemed sturdy sitting up, Bob took the notebook he’d noticed when moving Jesse before and the pen. Bob was a little like a child, not quite realizing how he should be using it, and wrote directly on the cardboard back cover. He pressed too hard and the pen was tiny in his hands but it was a simple message. ‘Bob miss u.’

“Awww, buddy.” Jesse cooed. “Missed you too.”

“Can we keep him?” Genji wiggled gently and clapping, “He’s adorable.”

Jesse looked at Genji, then at Bob, then back at Genji. “I… huh.”

Bob perked right up, clapping his hands to mimic Genji, and wiggled in the same manner on the bed. The omnic was a joy to have around, especially with his kind personality. He seemed to get quite the kick out of switching hats with Jesse or mimicking Genji. They were graced with Bob for what was probably an hour before Ashe unlocked the door again and came storming in. They didn’t call her Calamity for nothing.

“Bob! Go do somethin’!” She jerked her thumb at the door. Bob sat on the bed blinking for a few moments until she stepped forward and did it again. At that point he stood up and walked out almost stiffly. It seemed like the omnic didn’t get much of a choice in the matter.

“Yer both comin’ with me. We’re gonna have a little chat now that McCree’s awake.” Ashe stated and grabbed Jesse by the upper arm to haul him to his feet. When he proved to be entirely too heavy for her, however, she ended up getting some of the other muscle to move him and Genji toward their general purpose rooms. Jesse was put on the couch and Genji was tossed into a loveseat with a gun trained on him.

“I’mma ask you some questions,” Ashe snarled. Just as she did, Max came walking in with another member of Deadlock. The man was eating what looked like pasta from a bowl. Max seemed to be settling in just fine here in Deadlock. 

Jesse glanced up at Ashe, then at Max and Genji and sighed, “What _kind_ of questions?” Being hauled out of the room had shaken him back to remembering that they were in danger.

Genji’s eyes flicked to Max and he frowned, suddenly reminded that Max was a spy. _‘She could fix his eyes…’_ He bet it was the redheaded woman. It had to be. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. _‘Nowhere to go…’_ Well now he had somewhere, right? Genji turned his head away. He wasn’t going to let this bother him right now.

“What happened in Utah?” Ashe asked as she sat down in front of Jesse and pointed the business end of her rifle at Jesse’s chest.

The cowboy looked down at the rifle, then back up with a deadpan expression, “Everyone died.”

“No, _really?”_ Ashe asked as she raised an eyebrow. “Y’ don’t say?” Ashe flipped the gun over and smacked him in the jaw with the butt of it. “Don’t be a shit, McCree.”

Jesse grunted, rubbed his jaw and then worked it for a moment before giving her a sour look.

Max looked over when he heard the crunch of her rifle against Jesse’s jaw but his attention was drawn back. “No no, I’m talkin’ to ya sugar. This is some good food here, darlin’.”

“It’s amazin’ what youse can do wit’ some boxed pasta ‘n good intentions.” Max murmured. He turned a smile on the man, leaning in and taking a bite of the food. It seemed his new Deadlock companion liked to feed him.

Genji was doing his best to not feel sick. He was so stupid to fall for all of that. He turned his back to Max, where he didn't have to see. It wasn't like Max was cheating, since there had never been anything to start with but it stung anyway.

“I want to know how the truck went down, McCree.” Ashe snapped her fingers in front of his face.

“Which one?”

“The one with my _guns_ in it, McCree!” Ashe whined, rolling her eyes and palmed her forehead.

“Oh… Billy’s truck. He slammed it into a fuckin’ horde and jammed bodies into its _everything_ and then got eaten alive. Surprised ya didn’t find it, was right outside the gates.”

Ashe sat back and laid the rifle across her lap before leaning on her fist against the table. “Oh I found it, alright, I just didn’t think he was that stupid.” She shook her head. “How did you survive, anyway?”

“We loaded up the bikes in the other truck and me ‘n Jake, ‘r whatever his name was gunned it through the empty space. Pulled the bikes when it gave up the ghost, and kept goin’ ‘til the bikes ran out. Kid forgot t’ shake out his boots one mornin’, ‘n found out he was allergic t’ scorpions the hard way.”

“Wasn’t his name Jeff?” She asked and then shrugged. “That guy was changin’ something every other week. He needed killin’.”

Jesse snarled at that, “He was a better kid than any of the rest of ya _ever_ were.”

“You only say that because you were never on the wrong end of any of them changes.” Ashe scoffed, standing up. She smacked him with the butt of her rifle again because it felt so _good_ and then started walking away. “Hey, new kid.”

She got a dirty look in return as Jesse rubbed his jaw, wishing for a moment that he could kick her right in the shin.

Max looked up from where he’d been subtly leaning away from his couch-mate. “Yeah?”

“I heard you made dinner. Go get me a bowl.” She demanded, crossing her arms as she sank into a different chair and snagged the bottle of whiskey that sat beside it.

He didn’t need another excuse to get out of this room. Max got up and scampered away, going to get her the requested food before his company decided to get handsy again.

“Wow, can’t even get up ‘n get yer own damn food now?” Jesse snorted, “Guess I’m not surprised, really.”

Ashe pointed her rifle at him with a bored expression, raising an eyebrow. “I will shoot you _again.”_

Before she had the chance to do it, however, Max had returned with a bowl. He sat it in her lap and gave her silverware to match it before trying to sit on the arm of the loveseat next to Genji instead of the Deadlock member. That didn’t work. That same Deadlock member reached out and caught him by the waistband and pulled Max into his lap even as the blind man yelped.

Genji’s head snapped up, mouth opening in protest even though he wasn’t sure what was up with the two of them. He still didn’t like the idea of someone manhandling Max, especially not these people.

“You shoot me again, ‘n I can’t show ya where the rest of the guns that were in my truck are.” Jesse gave her a devilish grin.

Ashe snorted through her nose, eating the pasta and rolling her eyes. “You don’t _have_ any other guns ‘n even if ya did, I don’t _care.”_ She was past that now. “I got enough guns t’ last four or five lifetimes.”

Jesse snorted, “An’ what about ammo? Those guns are mighty useless without bullets t’ put in ‘em.”

“Got a guy that makes it,” She didn’t seem to care about his offers at this point. “Right now the only thing I’m interested in is when I can shoot you again.”

Jesse snorted at the threat. “D’ya really miss me that much?”

While Jesse was busy goading Ashe, Genji was busy watching the Deadlock guy and Max who looked subtly uncomfortable. Genji worked his jaw, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Nah,” Ashe shrugged and stood up. “I just get more _bang_ for my buck if I don’t kill you. I’ve been waitin’ a long time to shoot you, McCree. I can wait a few more days to do it again.” The woman took her bowl and started walking toward her room before looking back over her shoulder. “Y’all--take these jokers back to their room.”

“I’m _touched.”_ Jesse crooned with a roll of his eyes.

“Ok boss,” The large man that had made it his job to keep Max sitting in his lap rumbled before standing up. The man who had trained a gun on Genji nudged him in the back as Max awkwardly began to feel his way along the wall.

He ran right into Genji but neither of the two Deadlock members seemed to care. “Sorry ‘bout that,” Max had his hands on Genji’s chest to stabilize himself but he was looking to make sure that the ninja was actually safe rather than staring blankly as usual. Genji looked down with a confused expression as Max not only ran into him when Genji _knew_ he could see him at least a little.

“Don’t apologize t’ the prisoners, baby.”  
  
"Yeah, ok." Max mumbled and quickly got out of their way. That Deadlock member was really starting to become a menace. He jammed his gun into Jesse’s back to prod him back toward the rooms, all the while Max lagged behind them and disappeared around a corner alone.

The two deadlock members locked them back away in the motel room turned cell, and this time Bob wouldn't be accompanying them. At least for night, Ashe was done harassing Jesse. Maybe if he was lucky, he'd survive an entire week.

Jesse ran his fingers through his hair as he slumped onto the bed. “Well this is gonna be a shitshow.”

“Maybe don’t piss off the crazy woman with the gun and a hate boner for you.” Genji narrowed his eyes at Jesse as he started reaching in his pockets. Max had left something there when he'd run into Genji before. His fingers brushed something mildly plasticky and he pulled it out, face screwed up in confusion. Chocolate flavored energy bar… two of them? He set them down as he pulled the other two packages out. Lemon-lime flavored carbohydrate electrolyte beverage powder. Those sounded… worrying. He tossed one of each at Jesse, managing to hit him in the head with both.  
  
“Hey!”   
  
“Eat your dinner.”   
  
“The fuck is this?”   
  
“Food. I think.”

“Well, I gathered that.” Jesse rolled his eyes as he turned the packages over, “Where’d ya get it?”

“Max slipped it in my pocket earlier.” Genji mumbled as he unwrapped the bar. It looked… Genji flipped it over a couple times with eyebrows raised.

“It ain’t gonna bite back.”

“It looks like--”  
  
“Tastes kinda like a Krackel, just eat it.”   
  
Genji made a face, “A _what?”_   
  
“A Krackel. You ain’t never had a Krackel bar?”   
  
“ _No?”_

“It’s a Hershey’s bar with crisped rice--.”

“Oh! Like a Crunky!” Genji exclaimed and then looked down at the bar in his hand, “Somehow that makes the thought of eating this worse.”

Jesse snorted while taking a bite of his bar and then making a face, “Yeah, a lot less _actual_ chocolate.”

“Nothing _Hershey’s_ made is _actual_ chocolate.”

Jesse opened his mouth, and then conceded the point with a tilt of his head, “You know what? That’s fair.”

Genji took a bite, and while it wasn’t the _best_ thing he’d ever eaten, it was edible. Definitely similar in consistency to a Crunky bar, but the taste was left to be desired… by a lot. He got the bar down and then went rifling through the room for something to put his ‘carbohydrate electrolyte beverage powder’ in.

He didn’t have much luck, so he just poured water in the pouch and hoped for the best. While he sipped on the overpoweringly strong drink, he chewed his lip and glanced to Jesse, who was rubbing his jaw.

“Hey Jess?”  
  
“Hm?”   
  
“Can I ask you something?”   
  
“Shoot.”   
  
Genji paused for a good long moment and stared at his weird fluorescent yellow drink in a pouch before sighing, “I want to know what you think of Max because I… I just don’t know anymore.”

“Could ya be more specific?”

“I don’t know… Do you think he--” Wait. Jesse might not know he was a spy. Shit. He fidgeted, “Do you think he’s been leading me on?”  
  
“The boy made ya fresh fuckin’ lasagna cause ya said ya ain’t had it. Took 'im _weeks.”_ Jesse turned a flat look on Genji, “Dunno what you think that is… I don’t even much care for the guy but I gotta give him credit where it’s due.”   
  
“I--” Genji sighed, “He said something while he was in the back of the deuce and--”   
  
“Oh, so you know he’s been spyin’ then.” Jesse snorted, “Can’t imagine this could be a reaction to anythin’ else…”   
  
“You _knew_?” Genji’s head snapped up.

“Jack ‘n _Jefe_ pulled me aside on night watch one night. Just in case, y’know? But he always just kept feedin’ that crazy Banshee lady what they told ‘im to tell her. So, take that how you will.”

Genji shuffled for a moment.

“I mean, I was busy getting cracked over the head so I may’a heard wrong, but the boy fed Ben _boxed_ pasta. He about had a conniption when Brigitte even suggested it for the mac ‘n cheese.”

Right. _Right!_ He’d said _boxed!_ “I’m stupid.” Genji groaned.

“I mean, guess that means we’re stupid together, cause believe me, I had a few worries about Hanzo at first. Took a bit of talkin’ with Jack ‘n well, you yellin’ at him t’ get everythin’ put in perspective for me.”

Genji winced, “I didn’t mean to yell at him…”

“You tell him that?”

“We talked… a little after Max told me he was a spy.”

“An’ how’d that go?” Jesse glanced over with a quirk of his eyebrow. Would he have to talk to Hanzo later?

“We’re apparently ‘the best 10-year-old girls’ and are gonna bribe the girls for manis and pedis.”

Jesse was silent as the words sank in and then he roared with laughter. “Do what now?”

“Manis and-- Do you not know what a mani and pedi is?”

“Of course I do! I just-- Ain’t what I expected ya to say.”

“Emphasis on the pedicure, Jesse.” Genji winked.

Jesse chuckled, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Saying we get out of here…” Genji sighed. “I mean, that crazy lady is only keeping you alive so she can _shoot_ you.”

“Yeah, we never really got along well.”  
  
“Couldn’t have guessed.” Genji groaned.

“Ya know how people do dumb things when they’re young? Deadlock was my dumb thing. My really, really, incredibly stupid thing.”

“No one is ever really proud of joining a gang, Jesse.” Genji pointed out.

“I probably would regret it less if I’d _only_ joined. Me ‘n Ashe _started_ Deadlock with ah, two folks that got eaten… probably.”

“Ah. I see.” Genji snorted. “Well that explains,” He gestured up and down at Jesse and then towards the door as if gesturing toward the gang. “A lot.”

“Doesn’t it though?” Jesse laughed. “In any case… gettin’ out is certainly gonna be tough, yeah. My only hope is that she loses her cool and kills me accidentally so she can’t keep shootin’ me.”

Genji grimaced at that, but he guessed he understood. Jesse was only alive so that she could shoot him multiple times. Pissing her off _did_ mean there was a chance he died faster… as morbid as that was.

“Suppose we oughta try t’ get some sleep. No tellin’ what Ashe has planned.” Jesse sighed after a few moments of silence. “Well, planned for the rest of ya. We both know what she’s doin’ with me.”

Genji nodded and then settled down on the bed with his back to Jesse. There really wasn’t much room, but when Jesse rolled onto his side so that they were back-to-back, it became much easier to fit both of them. He wasn’t sure either of them would sleep much, but it was worth a shot.


	20. Chapter 20

_ ‘Well,’ _ Max wiped a hand through the blood splattered on his face and tried to find a spot on his shirt that wasn’t also similarly soaked in blood.  _ ‘You’ve really done it this time, Eugene.’ _

There were a lot of things that he’d done in his lifetime that he wasn’t proud of. He’d stolen cars, spied on his friends, and sold the key code to the back door of the Pentagon, but this one really took the cake. Max dropped the long filet knife he’d slid seamlessly between Ben Turing’s jaw and adam’s apple--the reason he was currently soaked in warm and sticky blood--before groping around for a towel. “No means  _ no, _ asshole.” Max snarled to himself, even though the already cooling corpse couldn’t respond to it.

Turing had been low hanging fruit. He was the easiest of the group to convince of his innocence and because of him, Max had quickly gained access to anything he needed from Deadlock. Who was gonna hassle a guy that big about his sexuality?

The fact that he was low hanging fruit meant that he also expected Max to put out.  _ Quickly. _ There were a lot of things he was willing to do to save these people; he’d given up the chance of ever seeing properly again and his ears were essentially forfeit at this point, but sex was where he drew the line. Telling Turing that it was a solid ‘no’ was enough to get him punched in the face and it had gone from ‘Netflix and Chill’ to ‘Jogging in Spokane’ in about t-minus three seconds.

“Eugh,” Max grumbled, starting to pull his shirt and clothes off. Ben’s stuff wasn’t going to fit him well but he sure as hell wasn’t going out wearing this. Their only shot at getting out of here alive now was to hope nobody realized that their muscle was dead. Like  _ really dead. _ He’d at least managed to snag a pair of black pants out of the laundry pile, they had no pockets so they had to belong to Ashe. Time to figure out how to get this shit out of his hair.

If only his foundation were as pigmented as human blood, he’d use a lot less. It was a bitch to get off and it managed to sink into every nook and cranny in the skin. Max leaned down and splashed his face in the sink. They had a shower here, but it didn’t really work. The water pressure wasn’t high enough, and cold to boot, but Max stood in there freezing his ass off anyway. This shit was only one step above a bed bath.

Max stopped mid wipe as he heard a pair of heavy footfalls at the door. He sloshed cold water out of the tub as he turned around in terror. He’d left his knife imbedded in the carpet at Ben’s feet. “This isn’t what it looks like--” The man shivered as he got out of the tub naked as the day he was born. Max didn’t really have it in him to kill some idiot just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but ,lucky for him, the ‘intruder’ was none other than Bob. Max was just thanking his lucky stars it was an Omnic. He could make Bob do and say whatever he wanted. He could make Bob forget  _ everything. _

“Hey there big guy--” Max slowly approached him with his hands out and grinned cheekily. “So, I’mma need youse t’ sit down over there for me, ok?”

Bob did as he was told and Max just rubbed his hands together. When they’d pulled him out of the trailer, Max had managed to slide his toolkit under his shirt on the way out and, boy, was he glad he had. He retrieved it from the pile of things at the door, threw on enough clothes to count as decent, and sat down to give this big boy an upgrade.

It looked like Ashe had taken out his signal module years ago. The port where he was supposed to have a signal amplifier that would’ve allowed him to be updated by the Omniums was not only empty, it also had significant grime. It was safe to say that it hadn’t been removed recently. That was probably why he was still in working order, if it had been on when the Omniums had gone critical mass, Bob would’ve gone with them.

Strangely, he was also missing his voice box. Max frowned at that one and reached into the interior portions to see if it had just come loose from a lack of care but it was nowhere to be found. Max had to squint at the interior portion of Bob’s maintenance doors and wipe them clean multiple times before he could finally make out what it said. Right about now, new eyes would’ve been  _ supremely _ helpful. Bob had been originally equipped with a T-398 squawker; he could’ve talked... Maybe she just didn’t want to hear what he’d had to say.

“That’s fucked up.” Max muttered as he continued to look around until he found the pin that opened his interior coding module. Wrote in sharpie on the inside of the door,  _ classic. _ The thing with a bot this big was that they had an interior keyboard and monitor that would allow him to work. Bob was essentially a walking supercomputer with morals and she’d rendered him mute. Max unfolded the keyboard and plugged it into the ancient jack after blowing out the dust. It was awkward to run a diagnostic with one hand--since the other was supporting the keyboard--but he managed it. First thing on the menu was flicking on the high contrast display--and large font because he didn’t  _ hate _ himself--and search through the old coding. God bless Linux.

_...Ah. _

Large omnics had been programmed to respond to biometrics. The police force and first responders, before the fall, had had their metrics uploaded to a central database that was then copied into the omnic databases. The large omnics were designed to take care and protect their owners from harm, but that allowed police forces and, say, the  _ president _ to tell them to stand down. If Ashe was active before the fall then she removed the signal box to keep them from updating Bob’s programming. Then she deleted his internal database of those ‘stand aside’ individuals and assigned herself to the highest priority.

“Well, that won’t do.” Max chuckled. He cracked his knuckles and deleted Ashe’s biometrics from the top priority list with a self satisfied ‘ha’. He began to input his own to replace hers, but something kept bugging him. Bob was essentially Ashe’s slave because she’d used his original internal diagnostics to keep him from disobeying her. Bob didn’t deserve that from Ashe  _ or _ Max.

_ ‘Goddamn it, Eugene.’  _ The hacker sighed, pretty sure he was going to hate himself for this later, and then rewrote his priority system to disregard all human orders and instead use his own internal processors to make decisions.

“We’re about t’ find out if karma is a bitch.” Max sighed, gingerly touching the black eye as he exited out of the editing mode, replaced Bob’s keyboard into the internal pouch and shut his back doors. The last thing was to power him back up and help him put his vest back on.

Bob blinked a couple of times and then surveyed the room and looked at Max. The hacker could swear he frowned.

“Yo, don’t gimme that. That joker attacked me ‘n tried to hurt me. I was defendin’ myself.” Max cried and gestured to his face. In addition to the black eye he could feel, he was sporting a rough looking bruise blooming around the jaw and a handprint sitting firmly on his jugular.

Bob crossed his arms at the corpse as if Turing could feel his displeasure from the grave. Max relaxed. “Listen, Bob. I know you’re partial to this place ‘n I get that, I do, but I gotta get outta here.” Max smiled sadly, “It ain’t safe for me ‘n mine. Your girl is gonna kill us if we can’t get free of here. Will youse help me?” It was a lot to ask of an Omnic to help him escape but Bob seemed willing to do it.

Max grabbed his stuff as the omnic fished around in his pocket for a ring of keys. Ashe didn’t carry her own keys, Bob always did. Max grinned and then looked outside before walking out with Bob on his heels. “Come on, big guy. We gotta boy t’ save.”

They were working on borrowed time here, there was only so long a dead body can sit around before they found it. Turing hadn’t smelled great while he was alive and it was about to get a hell of a lot worse. Max had to get them out of there. He made a beeline to Genji’s cell, pointing at the lock. Bob dutifully unlocked it to let them inside.

“Beep Beep, motherfuckers. Cavalry’s here.” Max called, looking over his shoulder and squinting to see if anything was coming. Squinting never helped, but his instinct was always to try.

Genji was the first awake, since, when the door opened, it shined light right on his face. He grimaced and then, upon hearing Max’s voice, hesitated for a moment before elbowing Jesse. “Hey, wake up.”

“Wha-- What’s goin’ on?”

“We’ze leavin’.” Max snorted, rolling his eyes before trying to figure out which of the many rooms on this hall had their allies in them. If he picked the wrong room, he could get a very nasty surprise. “Bob, do you remember where the rest of my group is?”

Bob nodded and began to amble down the hall and unlock motel rooms.

“Oh.” Jesse shoved himself up in a hurry, “Well then, won’t hear me complainin’.”

Genji, likewise, was up and moving in a hurry. He had a wide grin on his face. Jesse was right. His shoulders slumped.  _ Jesse was right. _ God, he was an asshole.

Jesse shoved Genji with his eyebrows raised, “C’mon, as soon as Ashe figures out there’s a jailbreak, our asses are grass. Whatever’s goin’ through yer head can wait til we’re back on the road.”

Jack quite literally came  _ plowing _ through his door right before Bob could unlock it. It seemed the old man really could MacGyver his ass out of anywhere. Bob paused in the middle of opening the door for Hanzo, blinking at Jack a few times. Jack blinked back.

“Y’all are a mess.” Max sighed, palming his forehead before pushing Bob out of the way so Hanzo could get out of his door.

“Jesse!” Hanzo whispered harshly, trying not to make too much noise as he ran down the sidewalk to his man and checked him over. “Are you alright?”

“A little roughed up, but good otherwise.” He tried to catch Hanzo’s jaw so he could kiss his cheek. “Had a nasty run-in with Ashe, but I’ll live.”

“‘Nasty run-in’?” Hanzo asked, staring at the blood on his pants in horror. “You look like you got shot!” He was too busy trying to decide if he should touch it or not. His priority was ensuring Jesse wasn’t  _ bleeding out. _

“I… did. But I’m fine, darlin’. I don’ really know how, but I’m okay.” He tried to catch Hanzo again, “My head’s a bit fuzzy and I got some bruises on my jaw, but I’m fine otherwise. Promise.”

“I was so afraid for you--” Hanzo finally looked up. He wasn’t usually the kind to give out public displays of affection but there was a time and place for everything. He reached up and caught the cowboy by the cheeks and planted one on him.

“I know, darlin’ an’ ya can look me over all you want once we’re outta here, deal?”

Max felt down the wall to where the keys to their trucks were sitting. He grabbed all the keys so Deadlock couldn’t chase them. Ashe hadn’t parked their trucks in the garage because they were too large to fit. He was worried about the horses more than anything but they’d just have to hang on for a little while longer while they got out of here.

“Hello scary robot--” Brigitte swallowed harshly, looking up at Bob who waved at her.

Genji glanced over when he heard Brigitte and then smiled, “Don’t worry, he’s nice. Watch!” He waved at Bob and then glanced over to Brigitte when the omnic waved back.

Brigitte made a noise of joy, trying it herself and then laughed in pleasure when Bob waved at her as well. “He’s so cute!”

“Cute as he is, we need to get moving.” Ana spoke as Bob moved to unlock Ingrid and Thyr from their room and then Naomi from hers. “Where is Gabriel?”

“He’s not on site,” Max informed her as he returned with the keys to the trucks.

“What do you mean ‘he’s not on site’?” Jack asked, frowning as this information sank in.

“He’s wherever the Banshee is.” Max explained, handing over the keys. “She’s somewhere else. It’s close, somewhere north of here, but I don’t know where it is. It’s most important that we get out of here as quickly as possible, though. We can find her lab once we’re safe.”

“Why do we have to leave tonight?” Jack asked, “Why not stay under cover until you could find out her whereabouts? I thought that was the plan.”

“It  _ was _ Capo, then I had a goon try t’ assault me ‘n I slit his throat before I could think about it.” Max gestured to his face. “Lookin’ back, probably not my best plan, but I wasn’t about to just lay there ‘n let it happen. So we gotta  _ go.” _

Genji frowned as he overheard the news, wishing that he could have had a chance to get a good shot at the guy as well. Oh well, he could worry about that later. “As soon as we start the trucks they’re going to know. What about our weapons?”

“I already grabbed them,” Max shrugged. “I gottem stashed in the back of the trailer next t’ Yuki. They opened it up, he bit ‘em, they shut it right back up. It was the perfect spot t’ hide stuff. They’ve got so many guns back there, they didn’t notice me snatching up the important ones.”

Genji nodded with a quick ‘Thank you’, and then crept towards the trucks to make sure that they weren’t being guarded. Thankfully, they weren’t and he was able to get into Yuki’s section without any problems. Well, Yuki eyed him warily but ultimately left him alone after a quick sniff and a headshake. Genji gathered up the crate of weapons and brought it back to the others.

“They haven't emptied the truck yet,” Max said as he waited for everyone to gather. “So we just need t’ get in and be ready to book it--” he stopped and looked at Bob. “Do you want t’ stay?”

That would be the real test of his new programming, could he make those decisions? Could Bob  _ choose _ to leave Ashe.

The omnic looked in to where Max assumed Ashe's room was and seemed sad. He didn't want to leave her, but he still shook his head and reached out to hug Jesse with one arm. “Well,” Max sighed, “Bob is officially a free agent. Sit in the back of the deuce, Bob. I think it's the only thing big enough to hold you.”

“Well, alright.” Jesse grinned as Bob hugged him and he returned the hug, “Let’s get everyone armed and ready to defend these trucks when we start ‘em.”

Bob walked over to the truck and, after some shuffling, hopped right in the back.

“Can we raid their stuff to look for details about the Banshee?” Jack asked, glancing over at Max.

“They outnumber us 'n I haven't found anything all day while I've been looking. I asked Ashe, y'know? Like, ‘I gotta get back to the crazy lady’ 'n she suggested it was t’ the north? Somewhere? But other than that, nothin’. I looked best I could ‘n then Turin’ wanted t’ go back t’ his room ‘n--” Max shook his head and rubbed his face with both hands. “'m sorry, Capo. I--” His voice broke and he sucked in breath, “I  _ tried.” _

“I know you did, kid. I know you did.” Jack felt bad for pushing now, reaching out to push Max's shaggy black hair back to look into his eyes. Well, one eye as the other was swelling shut. He just looked exhausted. “You did good.”

Jesse frowned and then, after fastening Peacekeeper’s holster back on his belt, he moved over to where Max and Jack were. “Did a lot more’n try if ya ask me. I figured I was a dead man. Hell, without ya, ain’t no tellin’ what Ashe’d done t’ us. Well, everyone besides me. I  _ know  _ what she had planned fer me ‘n so do you.”

“I woulda slit her throat in her sleep before I’da let her do that to youse ‘n I don't even like youse.” Max snarled vehemently.

“Well shit, if that’s what you do for the people ya don’t like, folks ya do like must be lucky sons’a bitches.”

“People I do like get let outta their rooms first.” Max smirked cheekily and then it faltered as it was replaced with an expression of pain.

“I'm sorry about your eyes, Max,” Jack interjected. He thought it was about the eyes and ears he'd been promised. “I know you said she would fix--”

“Don't,  _ please,”  _ Max held up a hand as he tried to stave off any more tears. “I've already accepted that it ain't never gonna happen. Ain't gotta rub it in. I've accepted it.” He shoved his hands into the short jean pockets and gave them a half hearted shrug. “If that's all I gotta give up to keep youse guys alive, it's a more than fair trade.”

“I mean, karma’s always been good t’ me. Maybe folks in Houston can help ya out.” Jesse shrugged, “They have a radio up and an idea for gettin’ all this fixed after all.” He knew it could be automated, or that shit in Houston could be real bad, but hell, hope was a powerful thing.

Max looked up at Jesse and then back down at his feet. “Thanks, Jess’.” He mumbled and then turned toward the truck. “As much as I enjoy all this positive affirmation bullshit, we really gotta get going before anyone spots us.” He couldn't help getting antsy. Ana and Fareeha were in back, Ingrid was climbing into the Deuce. Brigitte and Thyr had gotten into the trailer. All that was waiting was them and the brothers.

Jesse headed for the dually with a nod, climbing in beside his mama and dropping the window so he could have clear shots. “C’mon y’all we gotta move!” He called to the brothers as his mom started the dually.

Hanzo pulled himself into the front seat, crawling over Jesse to sit in the center as Max and Genji got in the back.

For the first few tense moments, while Ingrid got the Deuce running, nobody came out. It wasn't until she threw it in gear that doors flew open. Ashe was the first one out of her room, standing at the railing on the upper level. “How did they get out!? Wasn’t someone watchin’ them? McCree!! Get back here, McCree!”


	21. Chapter 21

“Sorry darlin’, as much fun as a life of bein’ shot over’n over sounds, got better things t’ do!” He flashed a cheeky grin and threw his arm around Hanzo and pressed a kiss to the elder brother’s jaw, “Can’t have my boyfriend upset after all!”

Ashe sat there for a beat, shocked completely that she had picked the wrong guy as his boyfriend before the sound of the deuce taking off knocked her back to her wits. “What!?” The woman shook her head, “Bob? Where is Bob!? Bob do some--”

Bob leaned out of the back of the deuce as it pulled away and waved at her.

“Bob!?” Ashe's angry screaming chased them as they pulled out of the compound and into the night. “Bob!? What are you doing?! Shoot them! Bob!”

He shook his head and pat the back of the truck. He did pull out his gun, just not to shoot _them._ The omnic shot out the tires on the cars as they rolled past, essentially crippling the gang even if they did manage to hotwire the vehicles without the keys. Then he waved again at Ashe.

“Bob you two timin'--” but by this point they were too far away to really hear her rambling.

Naomi gave her son a look as they got out of a zone that was dangerous, raising an eyebrow, “ _Mijo,_ care to explain what all of that was?”

Jesse immediately ducked his head, “Which bit?”

Max leaned over the back seat, “Let's start with the fact that youse’s only alive right now ‘cause Ashe wanted to shoot youse more times than letting youse die would allow. How about ya start wit’ that?”

“What!?” Hanzo cried, looking over at Jesse and then back to Naomi. “What does that mean!?”

Jesse gave a soft, exasperated sigh, “Could have probably done without freakin’ my ma and my boyfriend out, Max.”

“I've been too nice t’ youse today, gotta balance out my karma.”

“Ya know what I said earlier about karma treatin’ me good? It’s cause I don’t do shit like that.”

“Says the guy that was mean t’ me fer a whole month on ‘principle’!”

“You were a spy!”

“I was bein’ extorted!”

“I didn’t know that! I just got told you were a spy! Wouldn’t you dislike someone if all ya knew was that they were a damn spy?!”

“Don't bring that shit on me. It ain't my fault youse’s ashamed of yerself.”

“I ain’t ashamed’a shit. I’ll admit I was an asshole, but that’s it.”

“Boys,” Naomi groaned, “No fighting in the truck. If I hear another peep, so help me _God_ I will turn this truck around.”

“Peep.” Jesse grinned and then paused to stare at Max because they’d uttered the word in unison

“Boys…” Naomi warned.

Jesse ran his hand through his hair. Not that he wouldn’t have told Hanzo later, but right now was not really a good time. “Ashe uh-- She didn’t much care for me fuckin’ off t’ a new ‘n better family. So her idea of a suitable punishment was shootin’ me as many times as she could get away with in a week without killin’ me.”

“Peep. Peep peep peep peep--” Hanzo snarled and smacked the dash. “You promised you would turn the truck around and I need to go murder her. I have peeped as requested.”

Naomi covered her mouth and stared out the driver’s side window as she tried very hard not to laugh, “As much as I’d like to honor that promise and _help you_ murder her, there is a small child in the trailer I’m hauling and I don’t think Ingrid would appreciate me putting both of her children in danger for that.”

“...I do not like it, but I accept it.” Hanzo frowned and sat back. “If I see her again, I will murder her.” He flipped around and pinned a glare to Max and Genji who were laughing so hard they had begun to wheeze. “Why are you laughing?”

“I have _peeped--”_ Max sucked in air and coughed, “as _requested--”_ then more laughter and it was everything Hanzo could do not to climb over the seat and kill them both.

Jesse wrapped an arm around Hanzo and leaned over to try to instead distract him with snuggles. “C’mere darlin’, everythin’ is fine now.”

Hanzo was pouting but after years of living with Genji, he was used to the little brother shenanigans by now. “I'm just glad you're safe.” He murmured, squeezing Jesse around the waist.

“Me too. Also kinda glad she didn’t suspect ya as my boyfriend.” He leaned over to rest his head on Hanzo. He could use a nap, he still wasn’t one hundred percent after being shot and losing so much blood.

Genji slumped in his seat as he watched his brother and Jesse and then looked over at Max before softly murmuring, “I’m sorry I doubted you. Thank you for… well,” Genji looked back to the front for a second then back to Max, “Everything.”

Max turned slowly and looked at Genji, staring across the truck in the darkness. At first, he said nothing, choosing to instead remain silent and get comfortable curled up by the window. If he were anyone else, he might have just stayed quiet but this was Max and Max wasn't good at biting his tongue. “It’s a little late fer that, innit? Done screwed that pooch already.” He snorted, crossing his arms so tight he almost looked like he was holding himself.

Genji hung his head, took a deep breath and then leaned against his window solemnly. He knew that, unlike Hanzo who was used to his bullshit, Max probably wouldn’t let him off the hook anytime soon. He’d just need to apologize more. A past him would probably find it funny that he’d apologized more in the last few days than he’d ever had in his entire life. Right now, he just couldn’t help but feel like it was pointing out how big of an asshole he was.

The truck got quiet save for the soft snores of Hanzo and Jesse in the front seat where they were leaning on each other and the similar deep breaths coming from Max as he slumped on the door. Jack was instructing Ingrid to a nearby town that they were going to just need to make into a temporary shelter, but it was north and it would give them someplace to spread out and look for Gabe from. When they got there and got pulled into a parking lot, Max woke to the jarring light of Naomi opening the door and stumbled out behind her to find someplace to rest. At this rate he'd be willing to sleep in the truck with Bob.

Hanzo pulled Jesse from the truck so he could take him inside to rest. Jack had originally said that they ought to give a bunk to Max but when they went to look for him, he had already curled up by the wall where they had dogpiled before.

“Well,” Jack lowered his voice and looked back at Hanzo. “I guess you can have one of the bunks then, yeah. Maybe take the top one so Naomi can have the bottom?”

“Sounds good,” Jesse mumbled groggily.

Hanzo smiled at Jack from where he was still holding onto Jesse and nodded. “Thank you, Jack.” He would've bowed but that was impossible to do while making sure the cowboy didn't fall over. Instead, he took him back to the bunks and got the man up into the top bunk before crawling in beside him.

  


\---

Morning came without Reyes’ joking with the women as they made breakfast and Naomí wasn't sure who that sat harder on. Jesse was looking better, eyes brighter and more focused as he slowly sipped on the coffee Ana had made. He was hovering close to Hanzo, or perhaps it was the other way around. It was hard to tell and after yesterday, it could have been a bit of both.

Ingrid had made another big pot of oatmeal to warm them all from the inside out, though her smile didn’t reach her eyes. The loss of one of their own was hard on all of them. Jack was the worst off, watching out the nearby window with a forlorn frown. His husband was out there somewhere with God-only-knows what happening to him and he was completely unable to stop or do anything about it. Breakfast was too quiet without Gabe stealing biscuits and riling up the kids.

Jesse was among the first to rise after breakfast, tucking his hat on his head and grabbing his belt and holster before pausing at the door to look back at Hanzo, “I'm gonna take Kaspar out 'n scout around. You wanna take Yuki?”

“Sure,” Hanzo glanced over to his brother to make sure Genji was still asleep. He wouldn’t want to worry Genji or leave if he had only just woke up. “Didn’t Max say the crazy woman was north? We should ride that direction.”

“Yeah, was thinkin’ that.” Jesse nodded, as his gaze followed Hanzo's to where Genji was sleeping and-- wait. Where was Max? His brows furrowed. Was he okay?

Where Max had been curled up the night before was empty and he wasn’t at the table. He hadn’t gotten up to leave or else they would’ve heard the door shut and the living quarters were so tight you could hear a person if they were pissing. 

“What’s the matter?” Hanzo asked, following Jesse’s eyes to the empty space.

“Maybe I was loopy last night but I _swore_ Max was sleepin’ over there. Think he's alright? Yesterday was rough…” On Max especially, if he'd overheard correctly and that was before one factored in the loss of ever getting to see well again.

“I’m not sure. We should try to find him before we leave at least.” Hanzo finished the rest of his oatmeal and stood up to put the bowl in the sink so that Brigitte could have the chair. “I don’t think he’d go very far.”

Jesse smiled as he stepped out the door, “Readin' my mind, darlin’.”

Hanzo walked out into the chill of the morning air and pulled his jacket closer around him as he looked left and right from the door. He didn’t exactly know what he was looking _for_ but he hoped that it would mean a sign of Max’s whereabouts. “Max?”

Bob’s hand popped out from the back of the Deuce and waved in their direction. Hanzo looked over his shoulder at Jesse with a raised eyebrow before walking that way. When he pulled back the canvas flap on the truck, Bob was inside with a blanket up to his neck propped up on the fuel tank.

“I didn’t know omnics got cold…” Hanzo commented, moving to the side so Jesse could look inside.

“They don't.” Jesse said with a puzzled expression. He peeked inside, tilting his head at Bob. “Whatcha got there bud?”

Bob raised the blanket slightly so they could peek underneath. Max had curled up underneath the blanket against the omnic’s side, being warmed by Bob’s internal heater.

“Huh, well.” Hanzo gestured at the blanket as it was replaced and Max was once again hidden. “We found him.”

Jesse looked back at the trailer and then to Hanzo again, “I'll let the others know where he is so they don't worry if you'll grab the horses?”

Hanzo responded with nothing but a curt nod before turning on his heel to head to the back of the trailer where the horses were being kept for the night. They had to be taken out and the stalls cleaned out before they packed up. Yuki would want to run unfettered; he was like Genji in that way.

Jesse only popped his head inside long enough to pass on the news to the nearest ‘mother’, which in this case, was Ingrid. She nodded and waved him off and honestly, he wasn’t even sure she’d heard him, but maybe one of the group inside had. It wasn’t like he was particularly quiet. He lingered for a moment, waiting to see if someone acknowledged him further and, when he got barely anything, he sighed and shut the door.

He turned and shoved his hands in his pockets. Everyone else’s low moods were getting to him now and he probably needed this ride with Hanzo to get away from the others. He made his way back to Hanzo, looking up when he got close enough that Kaspar noticed him.

“You’re back!” Hanzo was in the middle of trying to saddle Yuki who had decided that today was the day he was going to be a shit about it and not sit still. Hanzo threw the saddle over his back and then groaned as his young stallion shook it right back off. “Could you give me some help over here?” At this rate he was going to end up riding Bertha. She was at least easier to saddle and if you couldn’t saddle her, she was broad enough to ride without one. If he tried to ride Yuki without a saddle, with the way he bucked and pranced, it wouldn’t go well.

Jesse nodded, shoved Kaspar’s nose away from his beard, which he hadn’t had time to trim and was getting unruly, and headed over to Yuki and Hanzo. “C’mon, Yuki. Hold still right quick.” He held out his hand to see if he could distract the silly stallion from Hanzo long enough to get the saddle on.

Yuki, who was used to being fed apples from Jesse’s hands, was _absolutely_ interested in him. He came over, lipping and snuffling at Jesse’s palm while Hanzo deftly put the saddle on and tightened it up. “Ah ha!” Hanzo announced just as Yuki realized Jesse did not have an apple and that this entire thing had been a ruse.

Jesse had been around horses, or at least his, long enough to see the warning signs before a horse struck. As soon as Hanzo got the saddle on and Yuki’s ears went back, Jesse recoiled. A hoof whooshed behind him, making him hop forward with an embarrassingly high squeak.

Kaspar balked and gave Yuki a reproachful, hoarse neigh that bordered on a scream, stepping forward between Yuki and Jesse.

Hanzo frowned, smacking Yuki’s flank with a solid ‘thump’. “Yuki! Knock it off!” At least the horse had the decency to look ashamed of itself. “Be nice to Jesse.” He frowned, getting his foot in the stirrup and pulling himself up before forcibly using his grip on Yuki’s mane to lead him away. “I’m sorry about that. He doesn’t want his saddle. I don’t know why.”

Jesse waved it off with a shake of his head, “It’s my fault. I spoil ‘im too much.” Not to mention that the stallion was ornery on a _good_ day. “I’ll see if I can’t find anything while we’re out to make it up to him.”

He just pat his horse on the neck and frowned. There had to be a reason, surely. Yuki had always seemed so intelligent that the idea of the horse just acting out of turn wasn’t one Hanzo wanted to consider. “Did you want to head north?” That was where Max’s intelligence had been heading, what little he got. He said that Gabriel was taken north and their best chance at finding him was to take that and go with it.

“Yeah, might as well see if we can’t find anything. More information, supplies, hell, we could all use some good news.” He settled Kaspar’s saddle on the gelding’s back, glad that his horse wasn’t giving him the same flack as Yuki did. Once the saddle was tight and Jesse was up on Kaspar’s back, he coaxed the Appaloosa to follow after Hanzo and Yuki.

The landscape of Northern Texas was nothing like what Hanzo had become accustomed to in Colorado and their trip through the western states, or what was left of them. Being able to see so far across the grasslands without huge blocks of trees in the way was almost surreal. He gently pushed Yuki into a trot but the Stallion took that as permission for an outright gallop. “Whoa!” He yelped, holding on as the horse let out his pent up energy.

Jesse sighed softly in slight exasperation and patted Kaspar, “Time t’ go get your brother.” The begrudging way Kaspar eased into a gallop felt like an eye roll. _‘Me too buddy. Me too.’_

Yuki slowed his run when Kaspar got close, opting to instead circle him and then butt up beside the gelding with a knicker. Hanzo was just holding on and waiting for Yuki to get this out of his system. “Are you done?” Hanzo asked the stallion. Yuki just snorted.

Jesse shoved at the stallion gently so that the little goofball didn't trip up Kaspar. onTo the Appaloosa’s credit, he only barely shifted his gait when the stallion circled him, as steadfast as ever. “He’s certainly an ornery little joker. Makes me real glad Kaspar was gelded when I found him.” Of course, it was also a shame cause of Kaspar’s gait, but damn was he a pleasure to ride. Kaspar _usually_ didn’t get funny ideas like Yuki did. Usually.

Hanzo scoffed and rolled his eyes as Yuki seemed to finally calm himself down into following Kaspar’s speed. “I think he’s disturbed by the air.” He murmured, “Everyone is so tense and upset after what happened and he’s always been sensitive to shifts like that.” Along with being shoved into a trailer for the entire ordeal, he was bound to be fiesty.

“I didn’t say he wasn’t loveable. Just ornery.” The cowboy chuckled and then nodded. “Most horses are sensitive like that though.” Kaspar only wasn’t because he’d been trained to be calm under pressure and things that would make most horses spook.

After a few minutes of them moving in tandem, Hanzo reached out and caught Jesse’s sleeve.

Jesse glanced over, tilting his head with his brows furrowed. “What’s on your mind, darlin’?”

“How are we going to go on if we can’t find him?” Hanzo asked softly. Gabriel was such an integral part of the team as a whole that without him they threatened falling apart entirely. Hanzo didn’t know the man very well but he understood the way that everyone else was acting; they needed Gabriel there.

“We'll... we'll figure it out. We said the same thing when Reinhardt and Torb died.”

“He’s not dead yet.” Hanzo choked out, swallowing the lump in his throat. “We don’t know if he’s dead. Like Schrödinger's cat, not dead or alive.”

“Do wh-” He paused, momentarily confused why Hanzo was talking about a cat, then assumed it was something he'd missed in the shitshow that was his childhood. “Maybe not, but if he's gone, he can't help us.”

He didn't like saying it. Reyes might as well have been his adopted father. “But we have to just figure it out. We can't survive if we don't.” It was terrible and even Jesse didn’t know how well they would function without Reyes. Jack was a fine leader, but with his husband gone, they would be down to Ana. Maybe not even her. Jesse pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned. They couldn’t stay here forever. There wasn’t enough resources in the area to feed almost a dozen people and they didn’t have time to start a new crop. Besides that, Ashe wouldn’t rest until she had his head. “We just gotta… figure something out.”

A quiet fell over the pair of them as they rode further out. Hanzo didn’t know what else to say and the somber mood didn’t afford for many jokes. So it just became riding and listening to the sound of hooves. They’d been walking across the plains for what felt like hours, though it had probably only been a few minutes, when they stumbled across something in the grass. “Is that a snare?” It was big enough to catch a person. An entire young cedar had been pulled over and tied in place. Maybe it was for boar? Surely there were better ways to catch a boar.

“Sure looks like one, but it’s set up kinda weird.” It did mean there was someone else out here though, but the question was, _who?_ It could be the rest of Deadlock, surely that wasn’t the whole gang there at that motel. Kaspar snorted and threw his head, dragging Jesse out of his thoughts. “Let’s keep our heads down, just in case. I gotta bad feelin’ ‘bout that.”

Hanzo slowly nodded as he was distracted by his thoughts. What could need a trap that big…? He guided Yuki into a slow gait and noticed a small path behind the trap. “I wonder if this leads somewhere?” He began to lead Yuki down the path. It wasn’t very large, but it had been well maintained so that someone could come back frequently to check the trap.

“Probably, and anywhere other’n here I’d say let’s check it out, but we’re still real close to where Deadlock’s been stompin’ about. ‘N that didn’t feel like the whole gang.” That had been bothering him a lot. _Where was the rest of Deadlock_ ? Hiding? Dead? Surely they weren’t _all_ in that motel? There couldn’t be enough around to support the whole gang. Not even other survivors, unless that weird red-headed woman was supplying them with food. “Let’s see if we can find another way around that ain’t down someone else’s trail. No tellin’ what kinda alarms they got down there.”

That certainly convinced Hanzo to stop heading down the path. He turned Yuki around to follow Jesse and Kaspar. “I agree.” The last thing he wanted to do was end up in another trap or worse.

Jesse offered Hanzo a small smile and had Kaspar wait until Yuki had caught up. There wasn't much out here but scrubby bushes and stooped cedars. The trap was in what honestly looked like a grove of trees. They were a little too uniform to be natural. “Let's take a peek 'round the outside. Might be safer if we go the long way.”

“I'll follow you,” Hanzo answered as he rocked his hips to spur Yuki into moving. The further they got around the trees, the more they seemed to line up perfectly straight as if they'd been planted that way. “There has to be someone nearby.” He could see white smoke rising over the foliage. They wouldn't bother planting trees too far from the settlement they planned to use them in.

“Yeah.” Jesse narrowed his eyes at the trees. Most survivors that had settlements were mostly peaceful, a little defensive but honestly, who could blame them? That snare though, that snare gave Jesse all sorts of bad feelings. “That snare was pretty damn big.” He mused out loud. “Only things out here big enough t’ warrant somethin’ like that is deer, hog…’n people.” Most people didn’t snare the first two. It was inefficient at best and more likely to end in failure or death. But snaring people didn’t seem quite right either. “I don’t get what it’s for. People are too smart, deer are just likely t’ break free and hogs? Fuck, that’d probably piss it off and make it meaner’n shit.” As if hogs weren’t already. If they were catching people though… He gave a soft whine at the thought. It better not be cannibals.

Hanzo didn’t want to think about catching people any more than Jesse did. “I’m not sure…” He swallowed as they continued around the trees to the path from before. It went right through the small grove and headed up the road further. “Do you want to go check them out…?”

The cowboy pursed his lips, hummed and hawed, and then sighed in resignation. “I don’t wanna, but we probably oughta. Just so we know who, or what, we’re dealin’ with.” He didn’t like this. He didn’t like the idea that he might be leading Hanzo toward cannibals, or worse. He knew Hanzo could handle himself, it wasn’t that he ever considered any less, just that he worried. He worried a lot.

He turned Kaspar toward the path, careful to stay a distance from it and walk Kaspar real slow, just in case. “Watch ahead of us, I gotta watch the ground. Don’t need t’ step in no bear traps or somethin’.” Honestly, if he lost Kaspar to a bear trap, it’d break his heart. If he lost Kaspar at all, it’d break his heart, but zombies and bear traps were his biggest fears.

“I will keep watching.” Hanzo promised as he guided Yuki to stay near Kaspar. He didn’t want to get too far ahead or else Jesse’s trap spotting would do him no good. As they came around the bend of the road, he realized that nestled just out of sight of their caravan was a little town. There weren’t many buildings, most of it looked as if it was made by hand after the collapse of everything, but it was a town of survivors.

“Well I’ll be damned. They got an actual town out here.” Jesse whistled low. “No walls though, look at that.” How did they protect themselves from zombies? Or raiders? Jesse backed Kaspar up a bit. “I don’t like it. Somethin’ ain’t right. Where’s the walls, the farms… the coops?” Jesse always listened to his gut and right now, a sense of dread was settling over him, along with the feeling of being watched. His hand strayed to Peacekeeper. “Whaddya think, darlin’?”

“There… should at least be walls.” Hanzo agreed hesitantly as he reached over his shoulder for his bow just in case. The town did have movement in it, though he wasn’t planning on getting any closer, but the lack of protection against zombies set the hairs on his arms on end. There was a chance that it was just naivety, but a population too stupid to protect themselves would’ve already been ransacked. This one had been around long enough that if something were going to happen, it would’ve already. They weren’t afraid of the zombies. _Why?_

“Right. I’m thinkin’ its a trap. Like, they don’t really live there… They just have this cute lil’ town that looks real easy t’ hit and everythin’ is rigged. They come by every now ‘n again t’ loot anyone dumb enough t’ fall for it.” Ashe would pull something like that. It was an easy source of weapons, ammo...any traveling supplies. He grimaced, “Or it’s cannibals… and that’s their cattle pasture.”

Hanzo felt his upper lip curling in disgust without his consent. He couldn’t help but find it disgusting. “Regardless, let’s head around the side. I see people moving in there.” If they were cattle, he _would_ find a way to set them free.

“Sure thing, darlin’.” Jesse nodded as he turned Kaspar off to the side and then frowned. “We might wanna leave the horses somewhere safe. I can call Kaspar if we need to get out real quick. Yuki follows him everywhere anyway.” He knew he didn't need to tell Hanzo they needed to make as little noise as possible.

“Do you think this is where Gabe is?” Hanzo asked as he got off of Yuki. He began to guide the horse further from the area where he’d be able to graze without being at risk. Kaspar was impeccably trained, so it was lucky that Yuki imitated everything he did. That made their lives exponentially easier.

“For everyone’s sake, I hope so, but realistically? No, I doubt it.” He sighed as he dismounted from Kaspar and patted the Appaloosa’s side. “Stay here bud, keep Yuki outta trouble, alright?”  
  
Kaspar snorted, lipped at his beard and got a shove for his troubles.   
  
“Yer worse’n them zombies. Behave.”

He turned back to Hanzo, offered a half-hearted smile and then looked back in the direction of the town as he started walking. “I hate dealin’ with other survivors.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not late, _you're_ late. -Lad


	22. Chapter 22

The air of depression and listlessness that had overcome the group in the wake of Gabriel’s absence was beginning to seep into Fareeha and it was frankly driving her crazy. Jesse and Hanzo had rode out earlier to look around, and now Fareeha was considering something similar. The boys had rode north, or so she thought she overheard, so what if they went east? Away from Deadlock, away from the boys. Maybe she could get Brigitte to go with her too. She pushed herself up from where she’d been sitting outside, staring at the miles of flat nothingness, and went searching for the engineer. Brigitte was usually on board with these kinds of ideas anyways.

Ingrid had burned three, count them,  _ three  _ batches of muffins already this morning. She was so distracted that when her daughter came up to ask her about what to give Thyr for food, Ingrid only dismissed her with a wave of the hand. “But Momma--” Brigitte protested and flinched when the blonde woman actually shoved her back.    
  
“Brigitte, I don’t have anything for him yet! The muffins burned!” Ingrid couldn’t look at them. She knew why the muffins had burned but there was nothing she could do about it. Everything was so much harder without Gabriel. He and Jack had become defacto fathers to her two youngest children, and Gabe was the one who usually sat in the kitchen and paid attention to the women. Without him around everything just felt wrong.

“You… burned muffins?” Brigitte looked back at Thyr and to her mother. “Is it bad? I can eat the burned parts. He’s hungry.” She didn’t want to waste food and it was a cold day that her mother burned muffins. Brigitte finally noticed the pile of black muffins on the counter beside Ingrid. They were nowhere near edible.    
  
“No, they can’t--” She swallowed and shook her head. “Just tell him to go back to sleep. Eating late won’t hurt him for one day.”    
  
“Yes, Momma…” Brigitte herded her whining kid brother back to the blankets and offered him some biscuits she’d stashed from dinner the night before. She usually ate them herself, but today she would just need to wait.

All Fareeha had to do was follow the sounds of Thyr's fussing to find Brigitte. The smell of burnt food hit her nose and her face contorted. She was lucky that she'd been up early enough for oatmeal.

Brigitte looked up and smiled tightly at Fareeha while putting a little bit of honey on the stale biscuit for Thyr. “Hey… You’re awake.” She knew that the other girl had probably been awake for longer than she and Thyr had but it was the only thing she could think to say.

Fareeha nodded and watched Brigitte make the biscuit more appealing to her fussy little brother before looking back the way she came. “I was thinking… the boys went looking for Gabriel right? Why don't we go out and see if we can find food?” Or  _ something _ , Fareeha just needed to get out and away from all of this.

Brigitte waffled between Thyr and the door as if she was considering it. Children, especially ones as young as Thyr, had a way of regressing when stress got high and he was using less and less words the more bad things happened. It was to the point he barely spoke at all and she didn’t really know what to do for him if he wouldn’t tell her what he needed. “Do you think we can find anything?”

She wasn’t a tracker or hunter like Jesse and Jack. Sure, she’d brought in a buck or two and fished with them… but never on her own. What if it didn’t work without them? Jack was essentially worthless right now; after finding out that Gabriel was gone and they had no idea where they’d taken him, Jack had done little more than sit at the table and stare at the faded wallpaper on the RV walls.

“I don’t know, but it has to beat sitting around here.”

Well, she wasn’t  _ wrong. _ Brigitte frowned and wiped Thyr’s chin where he had gotten honey on his skin before she sat back on her heels. “We have to have a plan, Fareeha. Everyone is just going off without a plan and it’s not working.” She stood up and ruffled Thyr’s hair as she stashed away her bottle of honey. “I don’t think fishing will yield enough fish and I don’t know if we’ll be here long enough to put down a line.”

“Probably not, but something’s got to be sustaining that gang right?” Fareeha shrugged. She didn’t really have a plan either, she just wanted away from the rest of the family’s moping. “There can’t be enough survivors around to steal from…”

Well, she did have a point. “Well, if we bring the rifles we can shoot anything we see.” Brigitte didn’t know anything about edible plants in these parts if there were any, but even a squirrel or two would help the cause. Thyr whined some about them leaving him behind but he would be safe with Ingrid and Naomi so there was little to fear.   
  
“Which direction did you say we should be going?” Brigitte asked once she was dressed and armed.

“I don’t know, the boys headed north, right?” The gang was to the south, and there was no telling what was east. West was basically where they’d come from. “So definitely not that way.”

“Yeah, so we go… south?” Brigitte’s sense of direction had never been particularly good. She just went where the group went, but if the boys with north then the opposite direction was south. It sounded like the closest thing to a plan to her.

“Sounds good to me. I mean, the gang’s back that way so we should be careful, but there’s got to be something around here.” Fareeha went for her rifle, thankful that almost everyone was too mopey to pay attention. She didn’t want another fight with her mum about whether or not she could go out hunting with Brigitte.

If they’d thought that the group was bummed when they thought Jack had died, this was so much worse. There was nothing saying that Gabe had died, only that he had been captured by a psychopath that wanted him for some reason. That was almost worse than dying in an explosion. Brigitte waited for Fareeha to return from getting her rifle and then started south. “Do you think they have deer here like in Colorado?” She’d never been as good of a shot as… well, everyone else, but she could hit the target often enough to bring down deer.

“We’re close...ish to Colorado, I don’t see why there wouldn’t be deer?” Fareeha reasoned. She really wished Jesse hadn’t left before they did. He would know. There had to be deer right? Why wouldn’t there be? They weren’t that far.

“I guess we’ll find out.” Even if there were deer in these parts, there wasn’t anything guaranteeing that they’d be able to find and shoot them. Brigitte smiled as she felt the warm sun on her face. The whole group had been overshadowed by the loss of one of its members but she just tried to keep looking at the bright side of things. They’d gotten out, right? If they hadn’t gotten out, Gabe would still be trapped with that woman and they’d be stuck with Ashe. It wasn’t a win, but it wasn’t a total loss either.

Fareeha nodded and headed out and in the direction the tires of the trucks had left little imprints in the ground. That had to be south. They had headed north… or so she thought. Now she wished she had a compass. Jesse usually carried one, but he wasn’t around. Ugh. If Jack wasn’t so listless, she’d ask him but in his current state there wasn’t a thing she could possible get out of him. There was no way she was asking her mum. She’d just have to hope this was south and not stray far from any place that could lead her back to the trucks.

“So…” Brig wished that she had something to say to Fareeha. They’d known each other forever but when stuff like this happened it was almost as if it stole all the words out of her mouth. “Uhm. Are you… ok?” She’d been in the same room as Fareeha when they were trapped in Deadlock but it was nothing but green and walking so she wanted to pass some time.   


“Ye-- N… I don’t know.” Fareeha sighed as they walked. “Personally? Yeah, probably. But if Gabriel is really gone…” She gestured back at the trucks, “What are we going to do? Everyone but us and the boys seems to have just given up.” They might as well walk right back to Deadlock if they were just going to get stuck and give up here.

“I don’t know…” Brigitte chewed on her lower lip while they walked. Even the air here smelled different than back home in Colorado. Was it still home if they could never go back? She didn’t dwell on it. “I think they’ll snap out of it. They have to snap out of it, right?” Her mom had been so helpless this morning. It was unnerving.

“I sure hope so.” Fareeha sighed. “Or else those of us that can still keep our heads on are going to have to figure things out.” She’d never abandon the adults but with all of the older members of the group practically out of commission, things weren’t looking good. Sure, Jess could drive the deuce and she could probably drive the dually, and between the boys, her and Brigitte they could probably keep enough food in everyone’s stomachs to hold out while they looked for Gabriel, or worst case scenario, had to continue on to Houston without him.

“We’re not going to think about that.  _ I’m _ not going to think about that.” Brigitte was as stubborn as her old man and she refused to give into thinking about how they’d do it if this all fell apart. If she thought about it, that made it real. She refused to give that insidious thought enough leverage to start preparing for it as if it were an eventuality. “I brought stuff to put down a trot line. That’s what Jack does when he fishes.” It brought in a lot of fish and she hoped they could hunt deer--or anything that walked around on four legs--while it passively caught them dinner. “We just need a body of water big enough to put it down.”

Fareeha looked around and then back at Brigitte. Everything around here was flat and dry. “I don’t think there’s enough water to find up here.” There were a lot of old farms though, maybe there would be irrigation or something. The more she looked, the more she worried that she was wrong about the deer.

“I… can deer even survive without water?” There were so much as large trees. Sure, there was scrub here and there but there weren’t trees that looked large enough to suggest water. “I mean, I’m sure there has to be something...somewhere? There’s grass…” It was all brown. Did that count as grass?

“There has to be water somewhere.” Fareeha frowned, “There's farms.” Maybe that was how the deer survived? Were the farms built near water? This place was so different from Colorado. “Let's go this way. That looks like a road, maybe we can find where it crosses like a creek or something.”

This road was dry and the dirt had blown up over it in places. Everything seemed cracked, though even now in November the sun was powerful enough to cause her to squint and worry about burning her forehead. Did Texas ever get cold? Ever? She didn’t know what to say as they walked along what seemed to be an ancient two-lane highway, so she just waved her arms back and forth with a failed attempt at whistling.   


She’d been a coward for so long, and there was no time like this time--hell, they could die at random any moment--it was time to bite the bullet. “Fareeha? How do you keep your skin so pretty?” That… wasn’t explicitly lesbian, but it got it out there.

Fareeha wasn’t used to the heat, but she wasn’t as prone to burning, in fact, she just got darker. She looked down at her arms, then back up at Brigitte. “I don’t know, I don’t  _ do  _ anything?”

“Are you kidding me?” Brigitte squinted for a second before whining because that pulled on the tight skin around her forehead where it was already starting to burn. She was splotchy because of the heat and the walking, her nose was going to peel  _ again _ and there was Fareeha in all her golden glory saying she had no idea how that happened. Brigitte was on the fence between wanting to kiss her and wanting to strangle her.

“I really don’t know.” Fareeha put up her hands innocently and then frowned, wishing she had a hat for her friend. They probably should have thought the sun part through better. “Mum always had really nice skin too, remember?”

Brigitte had a bandanna in her back pocket that she folded up and carefully tied over the top of her forehead. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t direct sunlight. “I know. So does  _ my _ mom but me? I must look like my dad.” She pouted and self-consciously pulled down her sleeves further.

Fareeha caught herself humming a jingle under breath and tried to stifle the singsong ‘Maybelline’ that almost escaped. “I don’t know, I never really saw him outside much.”  _ ‘Though that would explain why.’ _

She looked at the ground and got quiet while fussing with her hair and the bandana. Part of it was a vain attempt to look prettier, part of it was to try and cover her neck and other exposed bits of skin that were getting charbroiled out here in the Texas sun. Well, that question had backfired. “I probably should stay in more too, then.” Brigitte mumbled.

Fareeha opened her mouth to say something when Brigitte started fussing with her hair and bandanna. Oh. Maybe she-- Uh. Hm. She opened her mouth a few more times and then shook her head, “You look fine.”

“I’m doing my best impression of a lobster.” Brigitte grumbled under her breath while she kept fussing with it. Maybe if she pulled it out further, it could put shadow on her nose?

Fareeha giggled despite herself and then covered her mouth, “I’m sorry.” She murmured. “I shouldn’t laugh. But, you’re too pretty to be a lobster.”

“Says the woman who came out of the  _ womb _ with that perfect golden goddess glow.” Brigitte grumbled even more while she fussed with the bandana. She finally just gave up on it. Honestly, it wasn’t holding its shape against the harsh wind and there wasn’t a lot of point.

“I’m pretty sure I came out looking like every other baby ever.” Fareeha countered. “Covered in blood and gross.”

“--and golden. Don’t forget golden.” Brigitte was grinning again as she reached out and threaded their arms together. “ _ Perfectly _ golden.”

“Nah, need sun for that.” Fareeha winked.

“What do you  _ mean _ Ana’s uterus doesn’t have another pyramid and a mini-Nile inside? What? Are you sure?”

Fareeha snorted, laughed and then gently shoved Brigitte. “Yes! I’m sure!”

“Well, if you say so.” Brigitte sniffed and took the shove before leaning her cheek to rest on the much taller shoulder. It was only for a little while, since they were walking and Fareeha was bony as hell up there, but she wanted to test the waters and see how much physical contact the other was comfortable with. “I’ll never believe it.”

Fareeha snorted and shook her head, letting Brigitte lean there. She didn’t mind, as long as Brigitte didn’t stumble off balance. They walked for what seemed like forever longer, but besides the occasional scrubby tree, there wasn’t much to see for a while, until something dark and hazy on the horizon caught Fareeha’s eye. “Hey, do you see that?”

“Yeah…” Brigitte squinted some and leaned forward. She decided to let go of Fareeha’s arm and instead catch just the ends of her fingers in a light lace--she was  _ convinced _ that she was the slickest thing to ever flirt--and walk forward toward it. “What… is it?”

Fareeha squinted some, “I can’t tell, let’s get closer and find out.”

“It looks like one of those pens they kept animals in for sale…” As they got closer she could see the larger outer pens around the building. She only remembered because there was one not too far from the base and Jesse had explained what it was to her after they’d gone inside and found skeleton remains of large animals. Poor things had been trapped inside when it all went to hell.

The only difference with this pen was the fact that there was movement inside. Any animals that had been penned up should have died long ago but she was sure that she was seeing things move as they got closer. There were shadows on the windows.

Brigitte slowly got closer and as she approached the building, she let go of Fareeha’s hand so she could press her ear close to the wall. On the inside there was shuffling… and clicking.

\---

Jack squinted closer to the map he’d laid out on the tailgate of the dually and looked over it one last time. He knew where they were, that part was easy. What he couldn’t figure out was where to go--that part was hard. The street map had been invaluable to get them this far in their search but without more, he wasn’t going to be able to find Gabe. He needed satellite images. He needed intel.    
  
He needed Gabe.

He let out a laugh that sounded like he’d been strangled and pushed off the back of the truck. What hope was there? He needed to find Gabe but there was a huge swath of land here and no way to know where to go. North? North could be anywhere! They could throw a stone and hit Oklahoma. In the amount of time that she’d had him, they could be as far as Leavenworth by now.

What else was there? Where were they supposed to go without Gabe there to glue the operation together? Gabe used to joke that they’d be lost without him, but he had been right on the mark. They were lost without him. Gabe had always been the barometer for how much shit they were in and the group looked to him for advice on whether or not to be afraid. Now that he was gone, they were all terrified.

There had to be something on this map that told him where Gabe was. Some little road to nowhere that would lead him right to his husband. There had to be. 

Jack could almost hear Gabe laughing at him.  _ ‘Jackie, that map isn’t going to tell you anything you don’t already know.’ _

With an aggravated snarl he shoved the paper away from himself and slumped down into a heap at the back of the truck. What were they going to do? What if they never found Gabe? He hadn’t told anyone about Gabe being sick but even if they found him, what could they do about that? When he died the next time, would this reaction be even worse?

There was a new voice in his head, Ana this time, berating him for giving up so easily. His eyes glanced toward the trailer. When they’d parked it, they had taken a turn and that left the back end of the truck open for him to use as an impromptu desk. Last he’d seen Ana, she was following Max around in the hopes of gaining information out of him. They all owed their lives to that kid and his cool under pressure. Max had sworn up and down that he was a terrible spy and a terrible liar, but Jack had a sinking suspicion that if the whole world hadn’t gone to hell, that display in Deadlock would’ve gotten him recruited to Gabe’s division in a hurry.

He hadn’t longed for that world in a long,  _ long _ time.

Max snapped at her, though he couldn’t hear the words, but Ana didn’t even flinch. Jack laughed softly under his breath and got more comfortable on the ground leaning up against a wheel. She didn’t care how frustrated or annoyed he got, she’d keep picking at him until she got the information that she wanted. Ana was persistent like that. Annoying Max was not for the faint of heart.

Speaking of the faint of heart, where was Genji? Jack’s mind filtered back to the truck incident where Max had all but broken in the back window of the Deuce to get his attention because he wanted out of the truck with him that badly. Something bad had happened between those two. He didn’t know what, but he did know that he needed to find out. Out here in the wilderness, all you had were the people you loved and trusted. Genji and Max’s rift was something that he knew he couldn’t fix, but he could at least try to get them on the path of fixing it themselves.

Jack pushed himself off the ground and tried to ignore the crackles his joints made as he did. He was aging pretty well for a man nuzzling right up to 70,  _ thank you, _ but age would eventually hit even Jack Morrison whether he liked it or not.

Oh, to actually  _ be _ as immortal as these children all thought he was.

If he were Genji, where would he be? Not inside. Max’d already spent too much time coming and going from in there for him to be in there. Max avoided people he didn’t like, to a ridiculous degree, so if he were inside that trailer then their resident handicapable would be anywhere else.

He rubbed his hand over his face and replaced the ball cap that had become a boon against the Northern Texas sun before heading around the back of the trucks to put the map back in the glovebox. Kid couldn’t have wandered too far.

\---

Jesse crept closer with Hanzo hot on his heels, trying to keep as close to the treeline that now started to line the road, likely from before the world went to hell. Sneaking along the shadows of ancient and twisted oaks made getting closer much easier. There were definitely people up ahead. Jesse could see them more clearly now, wandering about doing what any normal group of survivors would. Seemed like a good portion were heading back inside, maybe to escape the heat of the day. A building was going up with several men working on lifting the skeleton, and a low unintelligible murmur of voices became louder as they got closer.

“Maybe these folks just moved in, some of those buildings look like they were here already.” Jesse whispered, “That one looks patched, and the ones that have been built are different.” Maybe they just hadn’t had time or reason to build walls. “Come to think of it, ain’t seen hide nor hair of zombies up here. Maybe the land wasn’t sustainable.” There really wasn’t much up here; a few creek beds snaked across the plains here and there, and he was sure mule deer were around. They would eat anything, but they likely wouldn’t see any until it got darker.

“If I recall correctly, the area  _ was _ sparsely populated…” But it seemed strange that somewhere this close to Amarillo would be this devoid of life. Jesse had said that they were even at his old hometown which was much further from a large town than this, and every bit as hot. His geography might be a little spotty, but that should’ve been the Sonoran Desert through there. He did  _ not _ have good memories from that place; with the sudden flash floods, one was more likely to drown than die of thirst.

“Yeah, it was. All of Texas is like that. This many years after the fact, maybe everythin’ nasty moved on or died.” With how they traveled in packs, it wouldn't be unlikely that they could have migrated north, where things like deer were more plentiful. “And maybe there ain't nobody left in the big towns, so no one goes looking for survivors, they just… stumble on 'em, like we did.” Jesse shrugged.

This whole situation required a lot of ‘what-if’s and the further they got from what they knew for a fact, the more uncomfortable it made Hanzo. “Do you see anyone?” He had seen movement beyond the windows but no one out in the open anymore, which seemed odd.

“Besides that group workin' over there, not a soul. Saw a bunch of people headed inside, but it is pretty hot.” Where were the farmers though? Surely the group didn't survive on hunting alone? “Somethin' keeps naggin' at me ‘bout these people but I can't place it.”  _ ‘Cannibals _ ,’ his mind kept whispering, but he really didn't want to listen.

Hanzo was thinking the same thing but he wasn’t about to say one way or the other. “They have to eat something.” He murmured and started to sneak around to the other side of the building. He didn’t  _ see _ any farms or crops. “I can smell a grill… Have you seen any deer?” If the deer were big enough--and plentiful enough--they might be able to make it like that. Maybe. Hadn't there been more people around before?

“Yeah, I smell it too and… maybe a smokehouse?” He hadn't seen deer and oh his mind had fun with that one. He shook his head to chase away the nausea that welled up. Just because they hadn't seen the deer didn't mean they weren’t around. “Maybe they've got crops in some of those buildings. Winds up here could get rough enough…” He wanted to be optimistic. He didn't want these people to be cannibals. “Guess we oughta go have a chit-chat. Only way we'll know for sure.”

“Are you… sure you want to talk to them?” Hanzo asked in a hesitant tone. Even if they  _ weren’t _ cannibals, they could still be aggressive. They didn’t have walls either because they didn’t have intruders or they were more than assured in their ability to  _ dispatch _ any intruders. He had a feeling it was the latter.

Jesse chuckled nervously, “Not really, but it's the only way we're gonna get information that ain't guessin’.” He squinted at the town and then sighed, “I can go up and you hang back in one of these trees, watch my back and if things go south, they won't be counting on you to be there.”

Hanzo was undeniably the more stealthy of the two. He hated the idea of Jesse walking in there alone though but he could see no other option. It wasn't like they could just murder a town of civilians and they were too close to leave be. “Sounds good to me.” He nodded.

Jesse sighed, glanced up at the sky as if he were praying to some deity he wasn't entirely sure was there for strength and then plastered on his most convincingly friendly face and headed back a few trees to stroll up the path as if he didn't have a care in the world. Couldn't be too close after all, they'd get suspicious. As he drew closer, he began to realize there  _ were  _ more people here than the ones that had been mulling about and he was definitely being watched. The windows were darkened and clouded so seeing anything in particular was hard but no one came out to greet him however, so he strolled right on up to the gentleman working on the building. Hadn't there been more? “Howdy! Anyone around here I could talk to?”

The man looked over from where he was starting to adjust the other side of the metal sheeting he was affixing to the building. He barely raised an eyebrow at Jesse, but, notably, didn't move to attack him either. “Yer talkin’ t’ me, aintcha?” He groused and pulled another nail from his lips to hammer it down.

Jesse barked out a laugh, “Well shit, suppose I am.” So far, so good. He could deal with snark, his whole family possessed it in spades. “I was just wanderin’ through and damn if it ain't lonely on yer own. Was just hopin’ to rest my feet for a little while, maybe enjoy some company 'fore I get to gettin’.” The only good thing about his drawl was that it made him sound like he was from the same state at least. He wasn't, but they sure didn't need to know that.

“Gon’ invite yer friend over?” He asked as he finished hammering the first few nails in and then let the overlapping metal sheet above fall into place. It was to keep the torrential Texas rains from leaking into whatever the building was used for. Two more nails made sure the accompanying wind didn't turn it into a sail. “We ain't got food enough t’ be givin’ it out.”

“I'm sorry?” Jesse frowned, as he kept the surprise off his face. Had they seen Hanzo? How though? He didn't look back, just in case it was a bluff. His brows furrowed in confusion, “If ya think I'm out t’ take from y'all, that ain't the case, I promise ya.” He patted the pack he almost always kept slung at his hip. “I got food, boss. Thing of corn whiskey too, if that kinda thing interests you.” Keep talking, distract them.

“Yer Asian friend. The one with the bow.” The man looked over from where he was starting to check the other metal sheets. He wanted to ensure they weren't loose. He spat the rest of the nails into an old paint bucket that had been cleaned out and dropped the hammer head-first into it. “Mah boy saw y'all walkin’ up the road. I figure he's gotta be close by. Iffn’ ya sharin’ that whiskey, I'm sure Muriel will be more than willin’ t’ let y'all sleep on the couch. Gotta ask her though, she's the boss.”

“Oh. Well shit,” Jesse chuckled nervously and shook his head, trying to figure out where they might have been seen and what these folks might know about him and Hanzo. He furrowed his brow and then sighed, holding up his hand and beckoning to Hanzo, “Guess the jig is up. Wasn't sure what y'all were like, t’ be honest. I'm sure y'all understand protectin’ the people ya can trust t’ watch your back. That's all that was, nothin’ else. If y'all are still interested in the whiskey, maybe we can settle down with a few drinks?”

“We ain’t racist here.” The man spat as he held the bucket. He watched Hanzo as he hesitantly came from his hiding spot and started to walk closer. “We don’t like strangers but that don’t matter what color they come in.”

“Ain't racism I was concerned about, boss. Don't like it, sure, but these days, world's a terrible place. Folks get testy and some are just downright ugly. Can't ever tell who's gonna be the kind to try to rob ya blind for just passin’ through.” He looked back at Hanzo, then back at the man. “We've run afoul of some real pieces of work a time or two, it's just habit nowadays to be a little… cautious.”

“We mean no disrespect.” Hanzo tacked on at the end with a small smile as he got slightly closer to them. It was polite, bit tense and the southern man didn’t seem to like it at all.

“Go talk t’ Muriel.” He instructed again while pointing toward the smokehouse. “But  _ don’t _ just walk in. She’ll skin ya alive iffn’ ya startle her.”

“Yessir.” Jesse said smartly, gesturing for Hanzo to follow with his head. “Doubt we'll be stayin’ the night, though. We heard somethin’ about Houston, 'n that's where we're headed.”

“Careful on yer way t’ Houston. There’s a nasty gang between here and there.” The man mentioned while he watched the pair of them walking toward the smokehouse. “The leader lady’s nearly got herself shot makin’ demands up here before. We don’t tolerate no  _ bullshit.” _

“Duly noted, sir. Thank ya for the warnin’.” He wasn't going to mention that Ashe was one those aforementioned pieces of work. Speaking of Ashe, where was Deadlock? His eyes flicked to the buildings. The gang should be crawling all over this place with how close they were, but they weren't.  _ Why? _ Where were the sprays, the bikes, the… everything. Why had Ashe avoided these people? The hairs on the back of his neck prickled despite the heat. Something had Ashe scared of coming here, and it sure as shit wasn't the threat of being shot.

“Jesse,” Hanzo whispered under his breath as he walked a little closer. “Something isn’t right here.” He gestured slightly up to the smokehouse and how high the chimney was on it. “Why didn’t we smell the smoke at the trailer? We were down wind.”

Jesse furrowed his brow. Hanzo was right. That smokehouse had just been lit. Even if they hadn't smelled it, they should have seen it a good ways off. The wood hadn't burned down quite right yet, and the smoke was billowing white. “Just been lit. Do you remember smelling the smoke up the road?”

Hanzo flushed at the tops of his ears. “I smelled it halfway between the bend and here.” He stated crisply.

Jesse hummed, “I bet that's when they saw us, but dunno why they'd fire up a smoker…” He paused outside the doors and rapped his knuckles against them. “Miss Muriel?”

“Just a sec!” Came the call from inside with some bustling and the sound of something heavy being dropped on wood before the door opened. “What is it, Eusta-- oh.”

Hanzo blinked owlishly at the  _ very _ tall woman. She was wearing plaid and men’s overalls but it did nothing to hide how her body was shaped. He noticed her dull looking brown hair first. He noticed the blue tint to her lips second. How could she possibly be cold in there?

“Can I help you?” She seemed more buttoned up now, looking back in the direction they had come before securely shutting the door to the smoker behind her. Something she saw caused her to frown and in response, she locked it.

Jesse didn't let his eyes wander too much. That was a one way ticket to getting shot and he knew it. He didn't miss the way everyone around here he'd met didn't look so hot, but didn't let that show. Instead, he grinned and gestured back, “We happened 'pon y'all while passin’ through on our way to Houston, and the gentleman over there said you were the boss 'round here.”  _ ‘Play it cool, don't try to get information yet.’ _

“I am generally regarded as 'the boss’, yes.” Muriel stated dryly while she looked over the pair of them. “I keep people fed and shoot at strangers who get it in their heads that we are an easy hit. If that makes me the boss, then so be it.”

“Sounds like boss t’ me.” Jesse shrugged, “Ya ain’t gotta worry ‘bout us. We’re lookin’ to avoid those kinds of strangers ourselves. Gentleman over there said you might be interested in some whiskey. We picked it up on our last stop and I’m not much of a drinkin’ man any more, but if you’re willin’ to spare a little information ‘bout what to look out for or the area in general... it’s all yours.” He reached into the bag to pull out the small jug, corked up back in Colorado and carried around in case of emergency. “It ain’t a whole lot, but from what I saw of the last folks to drink some from the same batch, y’ don’t need a whole lot. Good, strong stuff. They were usin’ it to sanitize shit.”

“We don't get sick much here,” Muriel stated slowly as she crossed her arms. Hanzo noted that her finger tips appeared the same shade of blue as her lips. “But I'm sure someone will try to get drunk. We can all use stress relief… what do you want to know?”

“Oh sure!” Jesse smiled and nodded, “Especially with the world the way it is.” He paused for a moment and considered the question, “Know of anyone else who might stay in the area? Besides that gang? We keep ourselves safe by tradin’ for information, so if ya know anyone else we might wanna steer clear of, we'd sure appreciate it.”

She watched the pair of them closely and when Hanzo nervously stepped behind Jesse under her scrutiny, her eyes softened up some. “Shit, y'all boys are just kids.” Muriel seemed to murmur it more for herself than them. “Yeah, I got something but I don't need your liquor for it. Stay away from the prison and the research center. If she catches you there, you'll never make it to Houston.”

_ ‘She.’ _ It had to be the crazy doc that had healed him up. He tipped his hat and smiled, holding out the jug, “You keep it anyway. As thanks for keepin’ us outta trouble. It's hard to find decent folks anymore and like I said, I'm not a drinkin’ man. Neither's he.”

Muriel slowly took the bottle so that her hand closed around Jesse's tight enough for him to feel her sluggish heartbeat. “Both of you boys need to get out of here.” She hissed as she leaned in closer. From this distance it was easy to see her eyes weren't blue, they were cloudy.  _ “Please go. _ Stay safe, stay away from her, and never come back here again.”

Jesse kept the unnerved look off his face and just nodded quietly. Something was very wrong with these people and red flags were starting to go off everywhere. They weren't cannibals, at least not any kind he'd met but this woman seemed... almost dead. He swallowed and pulled his hand away with a shaky, “Yes ma'am. C'mon Han’ let's… let's get goin’.”

When Jesse pulled away, Hanzo actually bowed to her and offered her something from his pocket.  _ “Arigatou.”  _ He mumbled, and Muriel took it while they started to walk out of the small town.

They were careful not to pick up their pace, not even as they passed by a brunette zombie chomping down on a soft bit between his teeth as if he were no better than an unbroken stallion. His dark eyes would've been warm brown when he was alive… he looked like Muriel. The zombie flicked his eyes at Eustace and whined as he gestured to the pair of them on the way out.

_ “Damn, Muriel. They looked healthy as shit. Why'd ya have to run them off? She might a fixed the boy.” _

_ “There is no ‘fixing’ him, Eustace. I won't sacrifice somebody else's baby for somebody that’s already dead.” _

_ “We're dead too, last I checked.” _

Jesse shuddered and picked up his pace. They knew the crazy doc. These people weren't right and they knew  _ her. _ If he had misstepped when talking to Muriel, Lord only knew where they'd be now, but he thanked all his lucky stars that years of gathering things for the family had coated his tongue in 999 silver. When they were a fair distance, he whistled for Kaspar, and prayed they hadn't found the horses.

\---

  
  


“Nope, nope-- I vote we leave, those are definitely zombies.” She backed up, jumping and shaking as if she’d just found the creepiest crawly in the world walking across her bedroom floor. “Nope, nope,  _ nope.” _

Fareeha visibly recoiled as Brigitte jumped back. “Yeah let’s keep moving, someone locked those in there for a reason.” A reason Fareeha had no intentions of sticking around and finding out.

“But… how?” Zombies didn’t exactly follow orders, at least not from anyone who would want them locked in a cage. Brigitte grimaced because the only plausible explanation that came to mind was that they were locked in there while they were still people. She had to jog to catch up with Fareeha’s long legs. “Nevermind, I don’t want to know.”

“Like I do?” Fareeha grimaced as she slowed her pace for Brigitte. “I have had more than enough zombies for several lifetimes.” Even the ground around here was unnervingly red and Fareeha didn't like it one bit.

“I guess if you’ve got all your zombies locked up, you don’t have to worry about them biting people…” Brigitte hummed softly and then looked back at the feedlot as they walked away. As it disappeared into the horizon, she finally relaxed. Something about that place bothered her more than just the zombies inside. After seemed like another walk into forever, she pointed to the next building on the horizon. “What do you think that one is?”

“I--” Fareeha squinted, “I don't know? Maybe another feedlot?”

“You think?” Brigitte asked and put her hand over her eyes to block some of the glare, as if that would help. 

“I dunno, maybe? Or maybe a… slaughterhouse?” Fareeha wasn't sure how these things worked. Jess might, but she certainly didn't.

“Let's go look at it!” Brigitte didn't know what it could be but she was curious and as long as Fareeha was there, it would be exciting. So she reached out and laced her fingers into the older woman's tanned set and headed down the road.

At first, Fareeha almost missed the sign as they made their way up the driveway to investigate the building. _ Clayton Livestock Research Center. Agricultural Experiment Station. College of Agriculture and Home Economics. In Cooperation with Kiowa National Grassland Forest Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture. _ It looked like someone had hit it while in a rush and someone else had saved it and propped it up. The words were chipping and faded but still clear enough to make out. In one corner was a cartoonish cowboy that made Fareeha think of their own resident cowboy and bump Brigitte. “Look, its Jess!” She laughed. In the other, the emblem of New Mexico State University had almost peeled off but made her frown anyway. New Mexico? Not Texas? Had they not gotten as far as they thought?

“It is!” Brigitte laughed and reached out to touch the cowboy and run her fingers over the sign. She was a tactile learner and even now just running her fingers over the sign helped her to understand it. “It’s a research center, whatever that means.” She backed up and looked around the building. “I think someone is in there. Look!” She gestured up to a camera that was slowly sweeping back and forth. The electricity was on.

Fareeha squinted. “Do you think Gabriel is here?” This was the first sign of life they'd seen since Deadlock.

“... maybe.” It  _ was _ kind of North of Deadlock, best she could figure. The electricity was on and everything. “Let's look around.”

\---

“Ana, I don’t know!” Max ran his hands through his bangs for what felt like the millionth time that day before tucking them back up into his knitted hat. They had been running through this scenario over and over again. She was interrogating him to see if he’d missed any information, and Max was  _ trying,  _ but there just wasn’t anything else there.

“I need you to concentrate harder,” Ana frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. She couldn’t get through to Jack and Max was only able to remember bits and pieces. She was certain that if he’d just apply himself correctly, he’d remember something else. They needed a clue.

“I  _ am _ concentratin’, Ana, but there’s just not anythin’ else t’ remember!” He pulled on his hair in frustration and stood back up so he could pace. They had taken up the back portion of the RV once everyone started to file out, so she was forced to sit on a bunk so he could move. “We’ve been over these facts so much, I dunno what else I can tell youse. They didn’t mention anythin’ about the Banshee other than the fact that she was up north. That’s all I’ve got!”

“Start from the beginning again,” Ana coaxed. They’d all been trapped in cells except for Max. “Did you read or hear  _ anything _ else?”

“No!” Max snapped and then put his face in his hands with a whine,  _ “No, _ I told you that already.”    
  
“Start from the very beginning. I was the first to see them, right?” Ana asked, “Go back to the start of the raid.”   
  
“I was in the back with Jesse. My cussin’ woke him ‘n Handsoap up.” Max crossed his arms and leaned against the wall nearest to the bathroom. “I was in there--” He jerked his thumb over to the kitchen, “--’n Jesse came in t’ tell me to shut up. Like usual, because he’s an  _ ass.” _

“Stay on topic.”   
  
“Yeah, whatevah, grandma.” Max rolled his eyes before continuing. “I traded him places, right? He was in the kitchen ‘n I was back here after that. I figured I’d take a nap because I was tired ‘n fighting with Genji always takes it out of me. I was almost asleep when I heard you get the shit knocked outta youse.”    
  
She was  _ still _ smarting from that blow. The man that had knocked her out had really done a number on her. It made it difficult to turn her head in a certain direction or aim her gun. “Go on.”   
  
“Well, I was inside the bunk so I backed up because I ain’t a ‘head on’ kinda fighter. Jesse is. He lurched attem,” Max’s fist made contact with his other palm as if to illustrate his point. “So the whole place rocks so hard I nearly fall out of the bunk. That’s when they found me.” 

“Alright, so, what happens next?” Ana had no idea what had happened after she’d been knocked out the first time because she had only come to in the truck on the way to the hideout. 

“Well, I watch Jesse get the shit kicked outta him for a bit ‘n then, when they’se was less busy, I said I needed t’ talk to their leader. Well, that didn’t really work out so hot. Next I tried  _ her _ word. I figured, if there was a chance in hell that the crazy broad had ‘n influence here, I oughtta give it a shot. Bingo, they let go of me ‘n nicely walked me out to talk to Ashe.”   
  
“I wondered how you got out.” Ana had been the most vocal critic of letting Max into the group and Max could respect that. He’d told them straight out that he was a spy.    
  
“Surprise, there’s a code word.” Max snarked at her before looking up at the plastic paneling that covered the roof of the RV. “Well, I was startin’ t’ realize just how bad this was right about then. We’ze was pretty fucked. So, Jack and I had a contingency plan that we set up when I first got here. If we ever got raided ‘n captured alive, it was my job to make them trust me. I had the code word and I can play dumb. So that’s what I did. I started lookin’ extra far off, actin’ startled by anyone that came too close, feeling my way around, pretendin’ I didn’t hear people talkin’ to me. That sorta thing.”

“Smart,” Ana was always surprised by how resourceful he was. Then again, she supposed he would have to be to have survived for this long.

“They called fer Banshee t’ come pick up Gabe, he was loaded int’ a separate vehicle ‘n then they left headin’ north to deliver him to her. That’s all we’ve got.” Max sat down on the bunk beside Ana and hung his head. “It was my job t’ get youse guys information that’d save Gabe and I blew it. I’m sorry, Ana, but there’s nothin’ else.”

“How did they call for her?” Jack’s voice startled them both from the doorway. Jack wasn’t usually considered stealthy but when he didn’t want to be heard, he could be very quiet.   
  
“I dunno, you were standing right beside her when she did it!” How was  _ he _ supposed to remember when even Jack didn’t know and he’d been right there?   
  
“I clearly don’t remember, Max. I was a little stressed out, if you don’t remember. They were  _ shooting _ my  _ husband.” _ Jack wasn’t usually that short with Max, but Max couldn’t blame him. It was a tense situation for everyone right now. 

“I think she used a walkie.” Max chewed at his lower lip as he tried to recall exactly what had happened. Did she go back to her truck? Did she use the short-wave in their truck…? Maybe…? No, she couldn’t use the shortwave in their truck, she was far away from the Dually. Her own truck was parked behind the dually… so it had to be something handheld. “Yeah, I think she used a walkie.”

“Did you see what kind it was?”

“Nah, she was holding it and I can’t read that fine 'a print. I’m  _ blind, _ Jack. Legally blind, at least. I knew it was a walkie by the way she held it.” Max rubbed his eyes and groaned. At some point he had lost his glasses. It might have been during their frantic exodus from the base, it could have been while running from Deadlock--it didn’t really matter. He was out a pair of glasses.

“That’s good, though, Max.” Jack didn’t get excited about much and Max hadn’t expected him to get excited about this. “That means that she could’ve only hailed Banshee from so far away. I think the best walkies on the market were only 30 miles tops before the fall. If she’s using anything but the best, Banshee can’t be further than 10 miles away from that first stop in Texas.”

“Well, if it’s north of here… but close enough to be hailed from there… We’re going to need a map.” This was a plan of attack. Ana stood up and walked toward the front of the camper where she’d be able to get out and get the map in the glovebox. “We’re going to find Gabe.” And now they knew  _ how. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my birthday y'all. I'm drowning in angst, but the world is down to a gentle smolder instead of it's usual wildfire so there's that.


	23. Chapter 23

If there was any place worse to be than here, Jesse sure couldn’t think of one. Kaspar had thankfully come barreling at them with Yuki in tow, and as soon as the Appaloosa was near enough for him to swing himself up, he was in the saddle and steering Kaspar far, far away from this place. He didn’t let himself think about the last things he’d heard out of them. He sure didn’t let himself think about that brunette zombie sitting on the ground on the way out. He’d learned early on to block things he saw when he was traveling, if he hadn’t, he wasn’t sure what his mental state would be. As if it weren’t already a fucking mess. Instead, he focused on Hanzo. He always liked thinking about Hanzo. Hanzo was cute and the cuddles were always great. Hanzo who had nice pretty brown eyes… Not unlike that zombie sitting on the-- fuck. He tilted his hat up and turned his attention to his boyfriend. If he couldn’t distract himself with thinking, he’d do it the good old-fashioned way.

“Can we get as far away as possible?” Hanzo wasn't one for being forceful, even at his meanest, but right now the request was all but hissed through his teeth as he white knuckled Yuki's reins.  _ “Please?” _ Hanzo had beautiful brown eyes that were not dead, not glazed, not just this side of sunken in--

“Doin’ my best, darlin.” He replied, maybe a bit more curtly than he’d intended. He had turned his eyes back on the horizon, where at least he couldn’t get those lovely thoughts poking at his brain about how Hanzo would look with blue lips and clouded eyes.

“Jesse, are you okay?” Hanzo knew it was a dumb question the moment it left his mouth but there was no taking it back now. He tilted his hips and felt Yuki sidle up closer to Kaspar so he could reach out and timidly try to take one of Jesse's hands. “I-- we know where to look now…?”

“I--” He wasn’t okay, but he didn’t have to worry Hanzo like that. “I will be. Just need some cuddlin’ and I’ll be right as rain.” Hanzo’s fingers brushed his and he took his boyfriend’s hand. The fact that Hanzo was plenty warm and couldn’t have the sluggish heartbeat like Muriel did helped immensely, and for the time being, he focused on that. “Sure do. Should probably get ba--” Oh. Shit. He glanced around at the emptiness that surrounded them. In his panic, he hadn’t stopped to actually look which way was the way back. He’d just took off, and Hanzo had followed. “Let’s…” His voice dropped to a sheepish mumble, “Figure out where we are and then head back to tell the others.”

The thing with horses, especially a pair that worked as well with each other as these two, was that once they got moving they could cover a surprising amount of land in a hurry. “Oh…” Hanzo tried to ignore the way his gut twisted and turned at the notion of being lost out here with…Whatever that was. Jesse didn't know where they were? “We came from the south..”

Jesse nodded and dug for his compass. “I’m sorry darlin’. Those folks got my head all scrambled.” He brushed his other hand through his hair and sighed, “Shoulda paid more attention but--” The jeering faces of what they had thought were the  _ smart  _ zombies flashed behind his eyelids. “Did you hear what she said as we were leaving?” His voice had gotten small and kind of scared. He didn’t want to acknowledge what Muriel had said, or anything about that town, but he didn’t have much choice.

“I think I did…” Hanzo bit his lip and glanced back the way they had came. “Were they… zombies?” She had seemed totally aware, but some stuff just didn't add up.

“Pretty sure they were.” Jesse nodded grimly. Problem was, those folks were zombies, yes, but they could talk, have morals. Despite their… condition, they were  _ people. _ That town, staring them in the face and screaming of uncanny valley, was the closest thing to a cure the world had right now, and the crazy doctor had found it.

“But they were talking to us, Jesse…” Hanzo swallowed heavily and looked back in the direction they had come. “If they were zombies, why did Muriel let us go..?”

Jesse opened his mouth and then closed it with a grimace. “That one on the way out, the d--” It felt wrong now to call them 'dumb’. That brunette was her kid and-- He swallowed hard. It'd been so easy to see them as 'other’ when all they did was click and screech and parrot but now that line was blurry. At what point were they too far gone? At what point did they stop being people? Did they ever stop? “I'm pretty sure that was her son, and-- “

“--and he looked like you. Or rather, you looked like  _ him.” _ Hanzo hadn't missed the way the zombie's beard had been lovingly trimmed to look nice or the way he still had his hair braided into a tail even if he kept pulling bits loose. She had saved them because Jesse looked too much like her child. That made sense, she did call them 'kids’. Hanzo had slowly gotten used to that designation with Jack using it all the time but he hadn't fully realized how powerful being a child in the eyes of a would-be murderer could be. She hadn't had the stomach to go through with whatever Eustace had planned.

“Didn't wanna say it, but yeah.” They had likely dodged all kinds of bullets by coincidence and a whole lot of luck. At this point, he wasn't even sure his talking  _ had _ gotten them out of that, nor was he going to claim as much. They were out and knew where to find Gabe, that was what mattered. All they had to do was get back to the others.

The ride back was a lot longer than he remembered. They had crossed a large road early in their trip up, they should be right on top of the trucks, but there was nothing but grass for as far as the eye could see, and a building far in the distance. He didn't remember that building anywhere near the trucks. Shit. Which way did they run when they left that town?!

Hanzo had been certain they were going the wrong way, but with the panic and turning, he was quickly finding himself lost as well. Getting lost out here, knowing that  _ she _ was out here somewhere, was terrifying. The sky was starting to darken in heralding of a nasty storm. He didn't want to be out here with Yuki when it started to rain.

Jesse pulled Kaspar to a stop to try to get his bearings. He'd always had landmarks in Colorado, mountains to one side or something big enough to see for miles but out here it was just… flat. He frowned. “Let's see if we can find out what that building is.” If nothing else, it might tell him where they were.

_ “Hai.”  _ Hanzo clicked his tongue and rotated forward to convince Yuki to get moving. His horse did not like the rumbling in the distance or the way it was quickly blowing up on them. Storms didn't move this fast in Colorado. “I believe it's a prison…” He suddenly sat up fast and then gave Yuki a solid kick to get him galloping forward. There had been something in the gully. He saw  _ something _ there.

It looked like black smoke.

“Of course it is,” Jesse groaned as he urged Kaspar to a gallop and followed behind. Which prison? Surely it had to have a name, but could they get close enough to see?

The smoke shifted, independent of the breeze and Kaspar tossed his head back in alarm. The Appaloosa had been taught to not spook to a great many things but smoke sitting up in the rough shape of a person? That wasn't one of them.

Jesse yelped in alarm as his steadfast, ironclad gelding suddenly stopped, nearly sending him over the horse's head and then reared with a hoarse scream. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!”

Yuki had already reared up high and made an ungodly noise. It was only on merit of Hanzo being a bona-fide ninja that he didn't fall straight on his ass. He came up with a terrified jumble of Japanese and pointing while he skittered away from the now bucking horse. The language might be different, but the emotion was the same.  _ What the hell is that? _

Jesse finally wrangled Kaspar under control after backing the gelding up several feet, gun drawn and pointed at… whatever  _ that  _ was. Zombie? Fuck, he hoped not.

_ Screaming. It was so loud. Why was it so loud?!  He lashed out, trying to make it stop but it  hurt to move. His lungs were on fire and he couldn't make it  _ stop . _ He  _ needed _ to make it stop. Just make it stop. _

“Yuki!” Hanzo had finally gotten up and was trying to calm his horse down. It wasn't perfect, his busted up shins and legs were a testament to how 'not perfect’ the solution of holding onto Yuki's thrashing head until the horse realized that he was there and calmed down, but he did it and the stallion finally slowed and let Hanzo cover his eyes to block out the scary thing. “Shh.. Yuki..  _ daijoubu _ … Yuki… shhh..”

He hazarded a glance over his shoulder at whatever  _ it _ was. It hadn't attacked them, not truly, but it also wasn't happy. The growling and almost whimpering coming from the smoke seemed wrong on so many levels.

Jesse dismounted, creeping closer to inspect the smoky, shadowy thing. It flickered occasionally, pulling back together in the semblance of a man before whimpering again and losing shape. “What in God's name?” It snapped back together and whipped around to look at him, before howling and dissipating. Jesse almost tripped over his feet to back up, but the mental image remained burned into his head. He knew that face. His eyes flicked to Hanzo as the color drained from his face. They'd found Reyes… sort of.

Hanzo recognized him as he looked around and gasped audibly. It took him a moment to calm Yuki down once more because his terrified gasp had caused the horse to jerk. “Gabriel?” He called softly, looking back at Jesse. “Gabriel.. what-- Are you--” he didn't know what to say. He decided to try coaxing him, “Gabriel, do you want to go home to Jack?”

The sm--  _ Reyes _ didn’t really seem to be paying attention. It--  _ he  _ had shrunk down into what looked like a puddle and wasn’t moving. What  _ was  _ he now? The only indication that Reyes was even still alive was the faint whimpering.

_ Something was stabbing him. So many somethings, all over his body. He could feel things going through him and he couldn’t make it stop. _

“Reyes. Come on, Jack’s worried sick.” Jesse took an experimental step forward, “Let’s get you home.” The puddle of ‘Reyes’ had solidified somewhat into the bent shape of a man. Jesse bent down to put a hand on the old soldier’s shoulder.

_ She was here again. She couldn’t be here again. He wouldn’t let her-- He couldn’t let her-- NO! _

Jesse was on his ass in a second, still reeling from what happened. His jaw stung and it took him a good long moment to realize that Reyes had decked his ass. Wait, where was Reyes? He looked to Hanzo, confused. “Wh-- What just happened?”

Hanzo rushed forward to grab Jesse as the smoke coalesced into a man and then dissolved back into a puddle that rapidly retreated back towards the prison. “He… He struck you.” Hanzo looked bewildered. That wasn't usual behavior out of Gabriel, not to Jesse especially. Jack and Gabriel both seemed to regard Jesse as their son. “He went toward the prison.”

Jesse blinked and worked his jaw, rubbing it a little. “Well, shit.” He reached up toward Hanzo for a hand up. “Guess we oughta find our way back and tell the others. We can’t take that place alone.”

“How do we get back though?” Hanzo lamented and looked around. He didn't know the area well enough to--

“Look, Jesse!” It was lunch time and, regular as the rising sun, the smoke from a cooking fire was rising on the horizon. It was in the wrong place to be the town, and it was south of them.

“That’s good enough for me,” Jesse grinned as he hauled himself back up onto Kaspar. Good old Ingrid was cooking lunch. “We oughta find some water though on the way back, if we can.” He patted Kaspar’s neck, “These poor guys could probably use some.”

With another nod, Hanzo spurred his tired steed into walking back toward the puffing smoke. He didn't want to think about how upset Jack was going to be when he found out what state Gabe was in.

\---

Genji finally hauled himself back into camp, slipping by the listless members without drawing any attention to himself. He'd been out almost all night and most of the day looking for hints of where 'Banshee’ might be. Not for Gabriel, though he'd kept the old soldier in mind, absolutely. He was looking for her because only she had the means to help Max, and  _ probably _ wouldn't miss a little bit of whatever _kijutsu_ she'd conjured up on Jess.

He diligently stayed away from where Max was, not wanting to upset him, only grabbing a blanket from the deuce and then curling up in the backseat of the dually. He'd be out of the way there, at least.

The problem with trying to slip in and out of camp without being noticed was that Jack had been actively searching for him. When Genji had headed out to the back of the truck on his own, Jack jogged over and put a hand on his shoulder before trying to speak to him. “Kid! Where have you been? I've been looking for you all morning.”

Genji visibly startled, kicking the door when Jack touched his shoulder. He only realized it was Jack when the older man began to speak and that was probably all that saved Jack from a frantic punch in the face. “I was scouting around,” he whined as he rolled over and covered his face with the blanket. He'd been awake so long and walking so much that now he was exhausted and wanted to do nothing but sleep.

“Does 'scouting around’ have anything to do with avoiding Max?” Jack might have been old, but he wasn't stupid. “The bed inside would be easier to sleep on.” But if he were avoiding Max in the kitchen, then he probably wouldn't go for it. Then again, Max hadn't spent nearly as much time in the kitchen since the Deadlock ordeal.

“No.” He grumbled surlily and turned over to block more light out of his eyes, “Jack, I'm exhausted. I went looking for 'Banshee’. Over here, I'm out of the way. It's  _ fine. _ ” Go away, Jack.

“Something is clearly bothering you,” Jack would usually let this stuff go, but this was enough to make two members of the group totally antisocial. They were two of the most talkative to begin with, too, so it was doubly disturbing.

“I’m fine.” He didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to sleep. If there was ever a time to find Jack's paternal concern irritating, it was now.

“Fine.” Jack let it go for now, “Did you find anything?”

“No.”

The sound of hooves coming in from the distance heralded the return of Hanzo and Jesse. Jesse was pale as a sheet as he took Yuki back to his stall. Hanzo seemed as doggedly determined as ever. Jack hated to let whatever this was go, but Hanzo clearly had something important to report.

“Jack, we have the location of two facilities which seem to contain Banshee's work. She is using a research facility and a prison, but we found something far more interesting at the prison.” He gestured off in the direction he had come. “We found Gabe.”

He felt the world come screeching to a halt around him. “What?!” Jack stood back from where he had been leaning into the truck and searched Hanzo's face. He looked grim, which wasn't a good sign.

“There is something… wrong with Gabe.” Whenever Hanzo considered his words this carefully, it meant that he had bad news.

All Jack could think about was how Gabe had been carrying the zombie infection. This was it. They were telling him Gabe was nothing more than another mindless killing machine. His heart tightened and his voice died in his throat.

“He's made of… smoke. We don't know what happened, but she did something to him. He appears like a..." Hanzo didn't really have an English word for what he was looking for. _"Yokai._ He appears like a _yokai._ He also doesn't seem aware. He punched Jesse!”

Jack's eyes widened. Of all the Japanese he barely remembered, that was one of the few words he knew the meaning for. _Yokai_ was a supernatural monster and this one had struck the kid. That was so far removed from anything Gabe would do that he had trouble believing it. If it weren't Hanzo reporting it, he would have called him a liar. “S-smoke..?”

_ “Hai.” _ Hanzo nodded sharply. “He retreated back into the prison. We have returned for backup, but… there is more you should know. We stumbled across a town that appears to be inhabited by sentient zombies. They spoke to us.”

Jesse had wandered off while Hanzo was talking to Jack to get the tack off the horses and get them some more water. The poor things looked as tired as he felt and since Hanzo was capable of delivering the news, good and bad, Jesse set about giving them both a good brush down.

Genji, on the other hand, was listening quite intently to what Hanzo had to say. All he had to do was wait for Jack to ask where and then he could go looking again.

“Sentient… zombies?” Jack's mind was reeling and he had to nearly sit on Genji to avoid falling on his ass.

_ “Hai.” _ Hanzo chimed again. “They seemed to be in various degrees of...” he chewed on the phrasing before finally settling on a word.  _ “Maintenance.” _

“What do you mean?” Jack looked up toward the way Hanzo kept gesturing as if he thought that the prison would just materialize on the horizon.

“It appears as though Banshee has the ability to 'fix’ them. One scolded the other--the woman who let us go--that with two healthy men 'she’ might be able to fix a rabid zombie that appeared to be their child.” Hanzo's tone was clinical. It was the same one he took whenever he had finally moved past his threshold. This was just about delivering the information to Jack and being done with it. “The one that helped us had blue lips and thickly clouded eyes. Like Max. The one that wished to give us to Banshee did not.”

_ “Shit.” _ Jack hissed softly and rubbed his face with both hands. Gabe was in there with that crazy woman and she had turned him into smoke. “What about Gabe? What do you mean ‘smoke’?”

“I mean smoke-- _Kare wa_ _\--_ Smoke! I don't know what else to say. He appeared like a very thick black smoke. Sometimes he solidified into a man, most of the time he shifted around independent of the way the wind blew and… and whimpered.” Hanzo licked his chapped lips and grimaced as Jack looked away. It couldn't be easy to get this kind of news.

“Where is it? We will head out as soon as we are all accounted for.”

“This highway here? Take it west until you come to A029. Then go south. The building is very large and easy to see.” Hanzo gestured to the highway they were parked nearby to. Jack nodded and pulled his hat down tighter over his head.

“We wait for the girls to get back and then we will head up there and case the joint.” Jack pushed himself off the truck and headed inside. He needed to tell the others… he'd leave out the zombie part.

Genji's stomach did a flip at the news about Gabriel but he couldn't help but be grateful for his brother's near perfect recollection of events. Thank you, Hanzo. With this information, Genji had a plan now. Of course, said plan now required that he go with everyone else and slip away when everyone was busy with Gabriel and his brother was a hundred times more likely to find out and skin him alive but… worth. Absolutely worth. Hanzo might understand. Maybe. It was to help Max? He'd understand.

Hanzo looked at the truck where he knew Genji was located and then waited for Jack to walk toward the trailer. The old soldier would need to tell Ana and Naomi, if no one else, what had happened to Gabe. He didn’t look happy about it either. “If you are going in there, you’ll need this.” Hanzo mused as he leaned against the side of the truck and offered a silver key to his brother.

“What's this?” Genji whispered, looking at the key in his hand.

“It may, or may not be, the key to the prison. At least… to some capacity.” He smirked at his younger brother and reached out to gently smooth the pad of his thumb over Genji’s cheek. “It’s enough to get her lacky in and out. It ought to be enough for you too.” The thumb moved to touch the bags under his tired eyes. “Be careful. You make more mistakes when you’re tired.”

Genji looked down at the key and then back up, opening his mouth to thank Hanzo when his brother expressed his concern over Genji's recent sleeping habits… or lack thereof. “I was going to sleep until Jack came over asking five hundred questions.” The younger brother rolled his eyes, “I've got time until the girls get back, right? I'll just get some sleep in and be good to go.”

He let out a soft huff of laughter and ruffled Genji’s hair lightly. “I’ll be sure to come wake you,  _ otouto.” _ Hanzo would ensure no one bothered him until it was time to leave. He got up and retrieved a dark sheet from the front seat and then hung it over the window directly above Genji’s head so that he wouldn’t suffer the bright sun in his face while he rested and then shut the door behind himself.

With that handled, and a bottle of water left behind for Genji if he got thirsty, Hanzo walked back into the trailer only to be met by the group of women berating Jack for answers. He looked over them, it was the moms that were questioning Jack, but Thyr and Max seemed to be absent from the group. He found them a moment later. Max was sitting at the table using a set of army men to cheer Thyr child up. Even B.O.B, who had taken to standing outside the window that opened to the table, had reached inside and was walking a little army man around. 

“--I don’t know! That’s all Hanzo said. Smoke.” Jack raised his hands in mock surrender. “I don’t know how or why but I believe him.”   
  
“I should hope so, it’s the truth.” Hanzo chimed from the doorway. He instantly regretted bringing all that attention to himself.    
  
Ana’s head turned and her eyes clicked on his. That was when Hanzo realized he wasn’t getting out of questioning any time soon. “What did the smoke look like?”   
  
“It was thick in some places, thin in others. Sometimes he looked like a murky puddle of fog, sometimes he looked like a man. He seemed to be in pain. He did not want to be touched, we tried to coax him back.” Hanzo reported dutifully. Ana liked this kid for his ability to give her what she wanted  _ when _ she wanted it.

“Don't let the smoky thing fool y'all,” Jesse mumbled as he wandered back inside from taking care of the horses, “Still hits like a ton of bricks.” If it weren't for his beard, they'd probably be treated to a eyeful of the bruise Jess was sure had formed on his jaw.

Hanzo took Jesse’s hand in his own and laced their fingers. He’d be looking at his face later, but right now the last thing they wanted to do was spook the civilians. He didn’t want to risk scaring them.

“We’re just waiting for the girls to get back,” Jack explained. “Is there any way you can whistle for them, Ingrid?” Ingrid had a whistle that could be heard for miles and when she said dinner was ready, well you best waltz your happy ass up that hill because she wasn’t saving any.

“Of course, I’ll call them now.” She smiled tightly and stepped out the door.

“It may be wise to rest before we try and storm the fortress,” Hanzo spoke. “I know that I’m not going to be at my best if we go right now.” He would try to stall as long as possible for Genji’s sake.

“We should go soon, though. Who knows what that  _ bruja _ is doing to Gabe.” Jack spat and glared at the floor.

“Him? She's already gotten to him, Jack. It's a prison with God knows what in it and if we don't get rest, you'll be down at least four people. Me 'n Hanzo have been out all day, the horses need a break and the girls have been out walkin’ in this heat for God only knows how long and how far.”

“--Genji has been looking too.” Hanzo interjected. “He’s exhausted.”

“Five then.” Jesse corrected himself, “If we go in there exhausted, it's not going to be what she does to Reyes. It's gonna be what she does to  _ us.  _ You can't take that place with just you and Ana.”

Jack looked around at the group of them in frustration. Ana was nodding, Ingrid was willing to defer to the others here. Hell, he even looked at Max who shook his head. 

“...They’re right, Jack.” Max finally said as he squinted at the metal man in his hand. “Genji is the most efficient killer you’se guys’ got. Not t’ mention Handsoap ‘n the cowboy. Going without them is suicide ‘n they ain’t stupid enough t’ go in there exhausted.”

“Settle down, Jack.” Ana nodded and put a hand on his shoulder even as the old soldier slouched into the bar seat beside Thyr. “We do this right or we don’t do it at all. I won’t go with you if you try to do it any sooner than tonight.”

Ingrid cleared her throat, “Is anyone hungry? We have chili!”

Jesse was glad for the change of subject. His stomach grumbled slightly as if to agree. “I could certainly use some food in me.”

Naomi gave Jack a sympathetic half-smile. She knew what it was like and she was just as worried about Gabriel, but the others were right. Until everyone was rested, it would do nothing but lose them more people.

Jack finally pushed himself out of the seat with a muttered excuse for his behavior and headed outside. He didn’t even bother to shut the door completely, which was why when Hanzo slid into the bench seat that he’d vacated, he was able to hear the tell-tale ‘fwip!’ of Ana’s sleep dart going off.

“Jesse?” Ana called as she stepped back inside with her rifle on her hip. “I’m going to need some help out here.” Jack was flat on his face in the mud with his pulse rifle not far away. “He’ll thank me later.”

Hanzo snorted behind his hand. He noticed that Max did the same as he made soft shooting noises at Thyr’s little pewter men. Every fiber of his being wanted to ask Max what it would take for him to forgive Genji. Hanzo wanted to know what it would take to convince Max that Genji truly cared about him. This was causing his brother pain and Hanzo wished he could just  _ ask _ Max what needed to be done. Alas, that wasn’t how these things worked.

“Uhm..” Max mumbled as he watched Hanzo slowly reach out and push his hair out of his foggy eyes. “Are… are youse alright?”    
  
“I’m fine,” Hanzo smiled and tapped his pointer finger between Max’s eyebrows like he did to Genji whenever he was thinking too hard. It made the Italian blink owlishly.   
  
“Why’re you actin’ like this?” He asked the question as if he didn’t want the answer.   
  
“I could ask you the same thing.” Hanzo wasn’t stupid. He’d noticed the way Max had pulled back from everyone else. The fingers that had tapped Max’s brow reached instead to tug on his knitted cap. “I’m not stupid.”   
  
Max reeled back as if he’d been burned. He pulled his hat further down on his head and stared across the table at Hanzo with wide eyes. “I don’t know what y’ think y’ know, but leave me outta it. 'n don't _touch_ me.”   
  
“Max--” Hanzo reached across the table and caught his wrist before he could slide completely out of the bench. “He just wants you to be happy. Talk to him.  _ Please.” _   
  
Max pulled his wrist away and rather than answering, he just retreated to the back of the trailer where he’d been hiding the last few days. 

Hanzo groaned and let his head hit the table beside the minted army men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter yay :D


	24. Chapter 24

Thankfully, there hadn't been zombies in the facility, just a few rather shocked and confused guards that had went down hard with a few well placed rifle rounds. Once inside it was obvious there wasn't much at, really. It was powered, sure, but seemed largely unused. It was very strange if anyone were to ask Fareeha.

Brigitte had been looking around the small area as they worked their way in and finally managed to bash in the lock on the most fortified portion of the research facility. She didn’t know what she expected to find in there, but a bed wasn’t it. “This almost looks like someone’s house.” What could anyone possibly have to give that would allow them to employ guards?

“It does.” Who would be living here? The same person that locked up the zombies maybe? She went looking for personal effects, to see if she might get a hint about the building's resident. “But I don't see anything really...useful here.” Not enough to justify guards anyway.

There was paperwork everywhere, but nothing tangible. Brigitte checked over each of the desks and pursed her lips. It seemed like a home lab more than anything worth this much security. “What would be worth protecting…” She murmured to herself and then decided to pick up one of the piece of paper nearest a distilling golden concoction. “This is gibberish to me.”

“Don't look at me. I don't get it either.” Fareeha mumbled as she picked up the nearest piece of paper and looked over it. It all looked like a bunch of equations but written in a language she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

“I wonder what--” Brigitte reached for a file closer to the back and accidentally unbalanced the distillery. It wobbled dangerously and then tipped, drenching her in the golden liquid. She winced and tried not to think about it as she stood up. “What  _ is _ this stuff?” She asked, as she tried to wipe it off. As it dripped over her skinned knees, they stitched themselves together without a scar. “‘Reeha--” Brigitte reached out and smeared some on one of Fareeha’s cuts. “Look at this stuff!”

“Wha-- Whoa!” Her arm healed in front of her, not even leaving a sting. Wait. “Didn't...didn't Jess say that woman healed up his gunshot wound?”  _ ‘...And without a trace besides the blood on his shirt?’  _ She paled a little. “I think I know whose house this is, Brigitte.”

Brigitte had been in the middle of stacking the healing concoctions into her bag when she stopped and swallowed harshly. “Who’s?” She asked, but she didn’t want to know. The look on Fareeha’s face was enough to tell her it was bad.  _ “Oh. _ I… I think we should leave.” She stopped packing stuff up and pulled it over her shoulder.

Fareeha nodded and shoved a few things in her own pack before heading for the door. She gestured to Brigitte to follow her. “What we have will help everyone out a lot though.” She pulled open the door to a face she didn't expect to be there and screamed, scrambling back.

One of the guards--no, not  _ just _ one of the guards, one of the guards she  _ shot _ , was standing again.

“Goin’ somewhere?” He rasped out, giving them a crooked, bloody grin.

Brigitte stumbled back to avoid getting knocked over by Fareeha as she backed up and peered over her shoulder.  _ “What the fuck…” _ She whispered harshly as she gripped her maul tight. The ones she’d beamed over the head and crushed seemed to be staying down, but any of the ones Fareeha had shot were starting to get up. She pushed Fareeha behind her and handed her the bag of fragile bottles. She didn’t want to risk losing that cargo.   
  
In the distance she could hear her mother whistling for them to come home.    
  
Brig grit her teeth and pulled her makeshift shield close before advancing on the guard. If it took smashing heads to get out of here in one piece, she was more than willing to smash some heads.

They started to shamble closer. They were clearly in pain from the gunshots, even if it hadn’t killed them. That gave Brigitte an advantage and she used it to close the gap with a powerful shield bash that dazed the guards long enough for her to cave in the sides of their heads with her maul.    
  
Just when she thought she’d won, they started to groan and move again. “Fareeha! We gotta go!” They had to get out of here, these things were just going to keep on coming.

“What in the world is going on?!” Zombies had never gotten back up and moved before! Once they were down, they stayed down. It had to be something to do with  _ her _ . She must have-- she  _ had _ to have tampered with them! They talked! She held the bag close to her as she started running, looking back now and again to make sure Brigitte was behind her.

“I don’t fucking know!” Brig had grabbed the bag back once they got a good distance away so that they could both hold their cargo tight to their chest. She was scared if it bounced, the bottles would break. They were plastic, not glass, but even plastic became fragile after this many years. Brigitte pulled Fareeha’s sidearm as they ran, turning around to shoot one of the men chasing them. She missed the first shot, but the second went right between the eyes. This time when he fell, he wasn’t getting back up.

They weren’t even that far from the trailer… which might be the most terrifying part. What if they got followed back?

Fareeha didn't even want to look back. As long as Brigitte was shooting, Fareeha knew she was there and that was good enough for her.

Jesse heard the shots and scrambled to the door with his pistol in hand. He caught his hand on the doorframe and spun himself around the corner, breaking into a run as soon as he was outside. There was a group headed for them, and only two he recognized. He'd recognize those two anywhere. He snarled, raising his pistol and narrowing his eyes. If the air could have gotten any hotter around him, he swore it might have. His eye ached far back in his skull but he paid it no mind. Closer. Closer, just a little bit-- Finally, he could see them all clear as day. A multitude of shots rang out in quick succession, almost blurred together in their speed and far too many for what should have been possible for a six-shooter. It dropped him to one knee, but behind the girls, eight bodies fell and didn't get back up.

One of the bullets whistled past Fareeha, causing her to screech a little, until she saw Jesse and the rest of the camp just ahead. Jesse was knelt down, covering one of his eyes with his hand and looked like he was in pain.

Ana came busting out of the door the moment she heard the shots go off. That much gunfire had rung through the trailer loud enough to spook most of its occupants. “What happened?!” She had her own rifle gripped in her hands but nothing else was coming for the girls. Brigitte stopped and fell beside Jesse while she pulled one of the bottles from her bag.

“Where does it hurt?” Brigitte asked, dabbing the golden liquid on a rag to try and soothe his pain.

“It's just a headache, nothing bad. I'll live.” Jesse grimaced out. Headache was a little on the tame side of what this felt like, it was more like someone had put a cleaver through his head starting with his eye but he'd spare her the details. “Just help me up, sis.”

Ana watched Brigitte help Jesse to his feet and turned to look at her daughter. “What happened, Fareeha?”

“Well, we found a feedlot with zombies locked up in it, and then Banshee’s… house?” Fareeha glanced back at Jesse. “There were talking zombies.”

“Talking zombies seem to be a trend.” Ana quipped lightly.   
  
“These ones didn’t even look… weird. It wasn’t until we thought they were dead that they started to do weird stuff.” Brigitte explained as she dabbed the healing stuff onto Jesse’s temple. She didn’t even know if it would work but she was willing to try.

“Neither did the one we ran into.” Jesse mumbled as he kept his eyes closed. Whatever Brigitte was rubbing on his head wasn’t helping much, but he wasn’t going to to burst her bubble right now. She meant well.

“You ran into some too?” She asked as she started to get more of the stuff on her rag but Ana stopped her.    
  
“No more. He’ll feel better soon.” It was a lie but no need to waste the resource on something it wouldn’t fix.

“Yeah, whole town of ‘em.” Jesse nodded. “Couple of ‘em looked… off, like someone had uh, let ‘em go past expiration, but one just looked like he didn’t feel good.”

Brigitte groaned heavily and rested on Jesse’s shoulder as she stubbornly tucked a vial in his pocket for later. Just in case. “Why can’t they just stay normal zombies? Why do they have to talk?” She whined softly. “I’m so tired and I think I burned my forehead.” She decided to instead rub the golden serum on her face. To her great pleasure, it healed the would-be sunburns up in a hurry.

“Cause there's a crazy scientist runnin’ around. Didn't you ever watch them B movies?” Jesse chuckled, and then immediately regretted it. “I think I'm gonna go sleep off this headache.”

She sighed and then got upon her tiptoes to kiss his temple. When she was a kid, Jesse used to be the big brother who kissed the boo boos better. It might not be the same… but it was the only healing she had at her disposal. “Have a good nap, Jesse. I hope it helps.”

Jesse grinned, pulled her into a hug, if only so she would stop worrying about him for a little bit, and then proceeded to squeeze her in an obnoxious bear hug. Bonus points if she squeaked. “It will. I'll be okay. Just get these every now and again.” He knew from experience and these headaches were what stopped him from using… whatever that was, any time there was a bunch of problems to be settled.

Brigitte did squeak. Loudly. When he let her go, she laughed and stumbled to her feet so she could pick up the bag of healing gunk and head inside.

“Come on, Jesse.” Ana chuckled as she offered him a hand. “Let’s go boot Max off the bed so you can sleep.” Jack was taking up the bottom bunk and Max had been in the top one last she checked. He’d just have to move.

“Now, ya ain't gotta do that,” he protested as he pulled himself to his feet, swaying slightly before he steadied. “I can sleep anywhere. If he's restin’, leave him be.

“He isn’t resting, he’s pouting.” Ana scoffed as she helped steady Jesse. Brigitte was on the other side doing the same thing. “Hanzo must have said something he didn’t like because he’s been in there since you both got back.”

“Lemme talk to him before ya just boot 'im,” He grimaced as his head throbbed. He and Max certainly weren't the closest, but the guy had every right to be upset by what he'd heard from Hanzo.

“If you think you need to, Habibi.” She snorted and helped him to the back room. Hanzo had been there since they walked into the trailer but he was holding back. When they got to the beds in the back of the trailer, Ana opened the shade on the top one and pat the mattress lightly.   
  
“Whaddaya want?”   
  
Ana gestured to Jesse to say his piece if he was going to. Otherwise she was just going to tell Max to leave.

Jesse raised his eyebrows at her, regretted the way it seemed to make the light brighter and grimaced, “I'll be good from here, I think.” He would rather talk to Max on his own terms than under threat of imposing Mom presence.

She watched him for a moment or two before she wrapped one arm around Brigitte's shoulders. “Come along, Habibti.” Brigitte didn't bother struggling since there was no use in getting Ana to let her be. The pair of them left without another word.

Jesse propped himself on the wall, still a little unsteady on his feet but not enough to need someone else there. “So, I know we don't exactly get along, but shit, I don't think I've seen one person ask you how you were doin’ in all this mess.” His head throbbed again, making him wince. Damn headache. “And that don't seem right. Now, if you don't wanna answer, that's fine, I understand. If you don't want to talk to  _ me _ in particular, well, I get that too. But I wanted to offer.”

He remained rolled onto his side tucked close to the wall so that Jesse could only see his back for the longest time. Max didn’t seem to know if he wanted to answer the question, but he did shuffle a little to get more comfortable. He was still wearing the shoes he’d pilfered from Ashe. “What do any of youse care about how _I’m_ doin’?” Max mumbled some and rolled over to look at Jesse. He had his backpack tightly held to his chest. “I’m just a spy, ‘member?” He was humming under his breath softly, almost whispering _‘sweetheart’._   
  
Jesse grimaced a little and it had nothing to do with his head this time. “I can try to excuse bein’ an asshole before all I want, but like I said, if you wanna tell me to fuck off, I get it. But as far as I'm concerned, you're one of us. Least til you choose to leave,” he nodded at the backpack.

Max laughed harshly. He didn’t find it funny as much as he found it ironic that  _ Jesse _ would be the one to come extend the olive branch. “You know as well as I do that ‘choosing’ t’ leave isn’t an option in the middle of nowhere.” It came out as a hiss as he slid out of the bunk. “Clearly you’re lookin’ fer the bunk. Take it, I’ll find someplace else.”

“I didn't mean out here, and if anyone  _ tried _ to make you I'd smack 'em upside the head personally. But, there's nothin’ sayin’ we don't run into more people the closer we get to Houston.” He shrugged and sighed, “Well, I mean  _ Ms. Amari _ drug me over here lookin’ for the bunk, but you got as much right to it as anyone.” He snorted, “I'll sneak past her into the deuce, it's just a headache.”

“And risk her findin’ out that I kicked her golden boy outta his cushy bed?” Max scoffed again, waving a hand. “I’ll take my chances wit’ the zombies, thanks.”

Jesse snorted, “Wasn't always like that. Pretty sure she hated my guts when I arrived, though that might've been cause I told her I was gonna steal the deuce and book it back to Deadlock.”

That stopped Max in his tracks. He stood there with his backpack still clutched to his chest and slowly turned around to look Jesse in the eye. “Yeah?”

Jesse chuckled, “Yep. Scrawny ass twenty-somethin’ me looked Ana Amari in the face after they'd picked me up off the side of the road and told her that if they weren't careful, I was gonna take that truck, and whatever I could get in it too. I think Jack was the only reason she didn't shoot me on sight.”

Max chortled and grinned despite the weathered way his face had aged drastically in the last few days. “That’s… not quite how it happened for me. Good t’ know your balls were intact, but they musta got lost somewhere along the way.”

Jesse barked a laugh and then instantly regretted it as his head felt like someone had hit the aforementioned cleaver with a hammer. He grimaced and leaned heavily on the wall. “I'll be sure t’ go lookin’ for 'em. Make sure they’re where I last left 'em.” He grinned a little through the pain.

“Good luck gettin’ em back from a ninja.”

Jesse snorted, but given what Ana had said earlier, plus the look on Max's face, Jesse felt it might be best not to keep joking about his balls being in Hanzo's back pocket. “No one really said how you told Jack, just that you did.”

If he noticed the way Jesse changed the subject, Max ignored it in favor of talking about  _ anything _ else. “I was delirious.” He shrugged and looked at the floor. “If I’d been aware… I probably wouldn’t ‘a told him at all. I just would have just ignored her, because I mean…  _ Jack Morrison  _ ‘n  _ Gabriel Reyes _ were here. I figured I was safe, y’know?” He scuffed the toe of the pilfered boot against the floor. “I begged ‘im to leave me behind ‘cause he was my hero ‘n I didn’t want ‘im t’ get hurt.”

Jesse sighed, “Yeah, it’s--” He didn’t know how to approach the information. Nothing felt right. He wished Rein were still around. Rein would have made Max feel welcome even if everyone else didn’t. Rein always knew what to say. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find words and failing. “It’s hard, when a whole group don’t trust ya. I know. Wish ya could’ve met ole Reinhardt. He’s the only reason I probably stayed those first couple years… him and Jack."

“I know what happened.” Max swallowed harshly and then bit his lower lip. “I heard about it. ‘m sorry.” He finally let the backpack fall to be held with one hand. “I never wanted to be this, yanno? I didn’t really get a choice.”

“It’s alright, it was a good couple years ago. I’m… mostly good now.” He ran a hand through his hair, “No, I know I just-- When they said you were a spy, I wasn’t ready to let that happen again. Just in case Jack was wrong. Cause this time it might’ve been my ma, or Brigitte… or Thyr.” He fiddled with his shirt, “But Jack wasn’t wrong and I was, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being an asshole, no matter how I justified it to myself.”

Max shifted back and forth on his feet. He didn’t know how to handle a  _ genuine _ apology. The semi-sincere well wishing was easy to brush off but this wasn’t. “I never wanted t’ hurt anybody, Jesse. I just want t’ be safe ‘n feel loved. Just like any of youse.” He hesitantly set the backpack down and gestured to the golden serum on Jesse’s belt buckle. “If you use that stuff like eye drops, it’ll make ya headache go away. I mean, or y’ could gargle it but it tastes like ass.”

Jesse knew that feeling. It’d taken a long time for him to really feel safe here, and up until his talk with Jack, sometimes even recently, he’d felt like he had to make himself invaluable so that they  _ couldn’t  _ toss him out. He was quiet as he stared at the ground for a long moment, jaw working slightly before he looked back up at Max, then at the bit of serum. A small grin spread across his face, “I think I’ll chance the eyedrops.”

“Prolly for the best.” Max smiled wryly and then grabbed his bag off the ground again. “Lay down or somethin’. Ya look like shit.”

“Feel like shit too, ‘n ya know what they say when it looks and feels like shit…” He grinned more broadly.

“It must be a gigantic, plaid, twangy turd.” Max snickered and leaned up against the wall with his backpack in both hands. He was genuinely smiling at Jesse--though his eyes were a smidge off--and it took years off him to finally feel safe around someone.

“Now, I don’ twang, you.” Jesse poked Max’s arm playfully. “I drawl, thank you very fuckin’ much.”

“Mm, so you say. I gotta imagine some of it,” He gestured at his own ears. “Considerin’ the plaid is enough for even  _ me _ to see youse, I imagine twang.” Max went so far as to wink one of the foggy eyes.

Jesse snorted softly and rolled his eyes, “I guess I can let it slide. For you.” He held out an arm, “C’mere.”

There was a moment of confusion as Max tried to decode exactly what was going on. He stood there awkwardly, trying to figure out the expression on his face, before slowly dropping the backpack again and hesitantly taking the offered hug.

Jesse pulled him into a full hug once Max had accepted it, squeezing him just a little and tucking his chin down. “For what it’s worth, I’ve got your back.”

A tremor went through the tiny Italian and then he sucked in air as he gripped the back of that fugly plaid shirt Jesse wore to keep warm. He was crying. It wasn’t loud--in fact it was almost inaudible--but the sobs were powerful enough to shake him even without the noise. He stood there and just cried in his arms for a while as he held on and hummed through the hiccups.

Jesse’s small smile broke and he pulled Max in closer, rubbing his back gently.

“Jesse?” His voice cracked some as he pulled away and frantically tried to wipe the tears off and pull his rapidly growing hair back up into its beanie. It had grown as far as to just brush his shoulders already. “I uh.. This is nice ‘n all ‘n youse is a great guy but uhm..” Max wasn’t prepared for the amount of emotion he was experiencing. “You really oughta get yer head taken care of ‘n I was just on my way out ‘n… Yeah.”

The cowboy gave a final squeeze and then let Max go. “Sorry-- I uh--” He ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, you’re probably right, ‘fore it tries to split in half of its own accord. But uh-- if ya need someone t’ listen… pull me aside, alright? Can’t guarantee I’ll have much to say, but--” He gestured loosely with his hand.

“If youse could just watch my back so I could get a decent night’s sleep without worryin’ about a ninja trying t’ kill me, that’d be  _ awesome.” _ Max grumbled under his breath before rubbing his arm nervously. “Not that there’s anythin’ wrong with ninjas ‘r nothin’--” He took a step back and grabbed the bag again. “Yeah. I’ll catch you around, Jess. Thanks fer the… talk. I guess. Yeah.” He quickly stepped backward and took the door into the horse side of the trailer so he could go out that way instead of the kitchen.

Jesse opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to say before Max was gone. He thought-- Fuckin’ hell. He sighed quietly and shuffled his way into the bathroom so that he could see a little better to try to apply… whatever this shit actually was. It took a couple tries, the first drop or two landing on his cheek, but finally it splashed in his eye. It stung for a moment, and then cleared, taking the throbbing in his head with it. He almost went weak-kneed with relief… or maybe that was just the aftereffects of using his eye. He leaned heavy on the counter, enjoying the absence of his headache for a few moments before pushing himself up and heading for the top bunk. Regardless of his now-cured headache, he was still exhausted and could really use a nap… or five.

There was a knock on the door.    
  
“Jesse?” It was Hanzo.

“Yeah darlin’? Come on in.” Jesse called as he climbed up to the top bunk.

He had a troubled look on his face when he walked past the door and into the back hallway where the bunks were. He moved to climb up onto the top bunk beside Jesse and once they were both up there and comfortable, he asked his question. “Do you think he was telling the truth? About being afraid of us?”

“Sure seemed like it, though why I don't know.” Jesse wrapped his arms around Hanzo, “He ran off 'fore I could really say anything about it.”

That made Hanzo upset and it was easy enough to see on his face. “I have been nothing but cordial to him.” He didn’t like this at all. “But he accepts you.” Jesse and Max’s spats were legendary for their ferocity, but they had mended things so easily. Hanzo didn’t understand it.

“I--” He squeezed a little, hoping to comfort his boyfriend, “Baby, I don't have the answer. Maybe it's not you, it's about Genji? He did say 'a’, maybe he's worried Genji is gonna react bad.” He shrugged, “I dunno. I really don't.”

“Genji likes him very much.” Hanzo frowned and snuggled into Jesse’s chest. The wet patch there made him frown. “I want to tell Genji.”

Jesse didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to form words and failing. “Just be careful darlin’.” Those two were already in a pretty fragile place. Jesse wasn't even sure Genji  _ could _ fix what he'd done, but then again, Max had let him in. Maybe they still had a chance.

“I know. It’s best that I don’t.” Hanzo frowned and rested his ear against Jesse’s chest. “I just want to fix it. I want to make Genji happy.” But this wasn’t one of those things he could just force.

“I know ya do.” Jesse murmured as he nuzzled the top of Hanzo's head. “Just give it time.”

“I don’t think that time will fix this.”

“Your brother's smart. He'll find a way.”

Hanzo was quiet. He knew that Jesse was right. Genji had a way with people and he always had, but something about Max kept that from working for him. He was stubborn, stubborn in a way that Hanzo hadn’t experienced since back in Japan, and Genji couldn’t just bat his pretty eyes at Max. Max couldn’t see them. He huffed and got himself settled with a leg thrown over Jesse for comfort. “Sleep.”

Jesse chuckled softly, “Yes, darlin’.”

\---

“--and you stick together! Do  _ not _ wander off on your own or so help me god, I’ll kill you myself!” Jack snarled as he looked at the motley crew assembled in front of him. He’d confiscated the key that Hanzo had given Genji and was currently brandishing it at each and every one of them.

Fareeha and Brigitte seemed to be the brightest-eyed of them all, and that wasn’t saying much. Genji was bleary, Jesse seemed distracted, Fareeha was  _ watching _ him because he seemed distracted, and Hanzo looked like at any time he might zone off entirely. “Are  _ any _ of you listening?”   
  
Ana sighed to herself. This wasn’t going to work. Someone was going to get hurt and they were going to have to back out. She could feel it in her bones. “Get your heads in the game.”

Fareeha elbowed Jesse and pursed her lips.

“What? I’m listening!” He shoved her away gently.

“Right.”

“I am, I’m just thinking.” Someone had to. Genji looked like he was asleep with his eyes open and he was pretty sure Hanzo was still perturbed by something Max had said, though what part, Jesse couldn’t tell. Max’d come up to him before they left and gave him a string of random directions. The only explanation he’d given had only confused him more.

Fareeha snorted, “Well now I know you’re not paying attention.”

Hanzo had been originally standing beside Jesse, but when Jack broke the group to talk to Ana he turned and regarded his brother stoically. There was a beat or two that he just stared at him before reaching out and poking him in the cheek. The pair stood there, finger pressed to cheek, for far longer than was polite before cracking up.

Fareeha’s head popped up to stare at the brothers. What in the world? Did she miss something? Funny expressions? Mouthed words? What was so funny?

Hanzo pulled Genji into a loose hug while still laughing.  _ “ _ _ Omoshiroi suzume.” _

Genji shoved at his brother’s face playfully, while laughing, “No you.” He didn’t actually mind the hugging, given how rare an occurrence Hanzo being outwardly affectionate in public was. Hell, Genji wasn’t even sure  _ Jesse _ got much affection in public, but that was just how Hanzo was… how they’d been raised and what he promptly chose to defy.

Brigitte took a step back to avoid being too close to them while they did… this. “Did I… miss something?”

Jesse shook his head. “Not much, nah.” He shrugged. The brothers were close and a different kind of sibling than him and Fareeha or Brigitte. He was more the type to bear hug and squeeze the life out of his siblings while messing up their hair or tugging at their ponytails.

“Alright, are we ready to head in?” Jack groused as he hoisted his pulse rifle onto one shoulder. The prison was right there, just on the other side of these trees that they’d settled near, and all they had to do was storm the fortress. “No goofing off once we’re inside.”   
  
_ “Hai.” _ Hanzo answered and let go of his sibling. It was all business now.

“Yeah, yeah, we got it.” Jesse pursed his lips at Jack. All of this ‘stick together’ and ‘don’t charge in’ from the guy that had been sleep-darted earlier for  _ exactly that. _

“Move out.” Jack barked and started toward the front door of the prison. After a little bit of scouting it had been easy to tell that only one door was being used, which meant that they had to go through that door. He didn’t talk about what Ana had done to him earlier, but he’d thanked her for it. Jack hadn’t exactly been in his right mind.   
  
Brigitte was the first to the door since she had the huge shield. Jack unlocked it from behind her with the key and she pushed heavy on it. Sure enough, the doors swung wide open and revealed a barely-lit front waiting area.    
  
“Be careful.” Jack cautioned as he clicked the flashlight on the top of his rifle on and started to head inside slowly.

Jesse raised an eyebrow at Jack with a snarky smirk. If Jack thought that Jesse was going to let him live this one down, he had another thing coming. “Yes, sir.  _ Always.  _ Wouldn’t dream of doin’ nothin’ like  _ runnin’ off alone.” _

Jack glowered in his direction but didn’t bother disputing a well known fact. “Could you just shut up for a couple minutes? Some of us got shit to handle.”

Genji gasped scandalously and covered Brigitte’s ears,  _ “Language!” _

Their leader didn’t even bother to respond to that. When it got bad enough that even  _ Hanzo _ was laughing, he’d lost the fight.    
  
“Now, now. Children, behave.” Ana chuckled under her breath and waited for the rest of them to follow Jack down the hall.

“Where would the fun in that be?” Jesse chuckled as he followed behind. “Besides, someone’s gotta give the old man hell, it’s only fair given all the shit he gives us.”

“But,” Ana gestured behind Jesse, “If Fareeha laughs any harder, she’ll hack up a lung.”

As if on cue, she wheezed softly through the cackles. 

“Fair point.” Jesse conceded.

The group followed Jack down into the hallway which would have been where visitors checked in their items. As they walked into the room, Jack noticed the door ahead of them was already closed… and when they walked in, the door behind slammed shut. “Get to the walls!” He cried, backing up against one.

Jesse jumped back, trying to grab Hanzo's hand and pull him toward the wall that Jesse had pressed himself against.  _ ‘Please don't be wall spikes.’  _ There was a grinding noise, like something cranking in the walls. Genji had pressed himself against the wall next to Hanzo while Fareeha was up closer to Jack.

God bless whatever deity was looking out for Jack Morrison. It wasn’t wall spikes. His instinct had been right on point as the floors opened up and swallowed Ana before she could get close to the wall. Jack gasped and a moment later he was sliding into the bottomless pit right alongside her. 

“Ana!” Brigitte instinctively rushed toward her to try and extend a hand but when Jack fell too, she backed up against the wall behind her.

There was a click and a hiss. The wall behind Brigitte opened up and she stepped back, only to be closed behind it. On the other side a similar wall opened behind Genji.

Genji yelped and flailed for Hanzo, trying to grab for his brother. If he hadn't been knocked off balance backwards, he might have succeeded but it all happened so fast that his hands met empty air. Where Hanzo had been was nothing, his brother and Jesse gone into the pit after Jesse had slid and Hanzo had lunged for him.

The door slid shut in front of him, but not before he swore he saw Fareeha… floating. How?

Fareeha didn't question it, didn't think about it, didn't even dare to look anywhere but at the other side of the room where it was safe.  _ ‘Just a little further. Just a bit further and it'll all be okay. It'll be fine if I just go a little further.’ _

When she made it to the other side, the door behind her slid shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuun


	25. Chapter 25

It had been many years since the last time she went down a slide. Ana frantically grasped at the walls but found no purchase as she slid ass first. She didn’t know where it this place went, but she could hear Jack above her as he tried to slow his own fall to no avail. Whatever this metal was lined with wouldn’t even allow her boots to get traction. She could do nothing to slow her fall.

When Ana fell out of the chute, she landed gut first onto a vat wall filled with fluorescent yellow glowing goo. “Guh!” All the air was ejected from her lungs as she gripped the edge with what little strength she had left after that blow. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had cracked a couple ribs, if not broke them outright. It was slippery and her clothes were soaked in it which made her heavier.

She’d very nearly gotten out when Jack splashed into the concoction behind her and sent it splashing all over her and the ground. Ana pulled herself up stubbornly to the edge and looked over the side. It was a long way to the ground from here, further than she felt comfortable jumping from. Jack would be out, soon enough, so she’d just have him get out and help her out.

He surfaced behind her with an audible gasp. “Ana!” 

“I’m here, Jack.” She called as she reached behind her to help guide him to the edge so he could hang on.    
  
“What is this stuff?” He asked with a grimace and coughed. It tasted like ass, whatever it was. 

Ana glanced behind her where the machine producing it was still chugging along. “It looks like the stuff Brigitte brought home.” It was already healing up her scraped knees and she felt the pain in her chest starting to subside. Jack reached up to the edge of the vat and tried to pull himself up. The splashed goo made him slide right off. There was just no way to get a good grip on it. 

“It’s too slippery. How’d you get up there?” He grunted as he pushed his feet against the wall to no avail. He just couldn’t get any traction with them and trying to pull himself up was nearly impossible. It was too slick. 

“I fell up here.” She started to continue over to the other side so she could look for a good spot to jump to. There was a railing not far away from the vat, but it wasn’t close enough to get to. On either side of it were large, clear halves of a lid. Clear seemed like a strange choice for a lid, but she just shimmied along the edge of the vat. 

“I’m having a hell of a time getting out.” Jack grit his teeth and tried to pull himself up again.    
  
“Getting old?” Ana teased lightly as she wiped her hands against her thighs. It didn’t help, they were covered in it too, but she was going to give it her best shot.    
  
“No.”   
  
“Now, now, pouting isn’t attractive.” Ana chuckled at Jack. She had gotten soft in her old age, as much as she hated to admit that. Even if she caught ahold of the railing, there was likely no way she could pull herself up onto it like Jack could.

“I’m not pout--” Jack had pulled himself up and locked his elbows to nearly halfway out. He was still strong, even now but the substance was slick and the wrong movement while trying to throw his leg over the top and he came tumbling down hard enough to smack his head against the edge of the vat. He reeled as his vision swam and he began to sink. Just before he slipped under the surface, Ana grabbed ahold of him and pulled him up to the surface.

“Jack!!” Ana screamed and turned so she could catch him before he sank inside too far.  “Why are you so  _ heavy?!” _ Ana groaned as she pulled on him. It took every muscle in her upper body to both pull him over and maintain her balance so as not to fall in with him.

“Wha…?” Jack asked as he tried to get his bearings. She had pulled him over to the edge and was trying to haul him up when she heard the first pin slide loose. At first, she didn’t recognize the sound. After the second pin, and the sound of gears turning began, Ana started to realize what was going on. The vat wasn’t on a rotator, like some kilns, the only thing that moved on it was the lid.

“Jack, please, you have to help me.” She begged as she pulled on him. Without help from him, she’d never get him out of that goo.

“...can’t.. ‘M tired.”

Ana pulled as hard as she could, even though she just couldn’t quite get him over the lip. He was too heavy, her hands kept slipping off his clothes, and he wasn’t helping her at all. Worst still, the turning of gears had really started to scare her. Her worst fears were realized when the halves of the lid came into her vision. They were moving and if they didn’t hurry, they’d close on Jack.

_ “Please _ Jack!” Ana begged as she gripped as hard as she could to pull him up. They were running out of time. If she sat here much longer, her leg would get caught. If she left, Jack would drown.

He gained strength as his senses began to return. Ana knew she had to move, there was no way they’d be able to pull him out in time. She had to get out of the way of the lids. Jack realized it too. With the last of his power, he pushed her off the rim to safety before being locked inside the vat.

_ “Jack!” _

\---

Jesse flailed and scrambled for purchase as the floor gave way below him, the heels of his boots skidding and scraping uselessly against the slick floor. He finally landed after a while, thrown off balance to his hands and knees. His heart was pounding in his ears and his hands shook as he tried to catch his breath.

When he finally pushed himself to his feet, he was met with a long corridor that seemed to open up into others. Suddenly, the string of directions Max had given him before they left made so much more sense. It was a maze. He looked up, judging the height of the walls. They were definitely makeshift, but not in the cobbled together way the ones at Grand Mesa had become after countless attacks and beatings. Unlike those, these were well-made. He couldn't help but wonder how long she'd been here. How much time had it taken to change this prison like this, and where had she gotten the materials. He'd had to ride for miles for supplies.

“What… is this?” Hanzo groaned as he pulled himself up. He had nearly landed on top of Jesse as they were deposited here. He didn't need to look around much to arrive at the same conclusion Jesse had. Instead, he frowned and began to head forward. Why would she dump them there? High above him, he saw glass lit from the inside where the wardens would have originally watched over the population of prisoners. Now, it was a rat race for humans. He could hardly imagine cheese at the end.

“A load of bullshit.” Jesse snorted as he followed behind Hanzo, glancing up at the glass observatory and then shaking his head. He could almost imagine the crazy doc, tall and thin and red-haired, watching them and writing notes. Joke was on her. If he was right, that string of directions was the way out. “Earlier… I think Max gave me the directions and I'm pretty sure we take a right up here.”

“You  _ think _ Max gave you directions?” Hanzo asked with wide eyes. “How would he know? Isn’t he blind?” A whole lot of things were not adding up here.

“Well it was a string of directions? What else would it-- left.” Jesse shrugged, “What else would it be for? I mean he used to work for her, maybe he has it memorized for some reason like, he had to navigate it to get in or something? I dunno.”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow but it was barely able to be seen. The further they got into the maze, the darker it was to get through. Every step got harder and harder to see. “I hope he is correct. I hope  _ you _ are correct.” The archer was worried for their safety… especially when he heard clicking behind them and a metallic  _ clank. _ “Was that a gate?”

“Sure sounded like one.” Jesse frowned. He didn't want to think about what was coming out of said gate. Instead, he reached out to run his fingers along a wall. “Grab my hand, baby. Don't wanna get seperated. I can remember the directions. We'll just have to move a bit quicker.”

Above them, Genji wandered down a long hall, looking for… well, anything. Finally, he found a door that opened into what looked like a lookout post with huge windows looking over… a maze? It was hard to tell with how dim it was. Well, it might have been a lookout post when this was a prison but now it seemed more like an observation deck. Notes and papers were scattered over the desk, files of varying thicknesses and vials of a strange, swirling dark mixture. In the corner, an old stereo was playing a record. It must have been started shortly before he’d gotten there. Genji shuddered, but maybe, just maybe, he could find something up here.

“Please, Jesse.” Hanzo hated to let go of one hand, as he couldn’t fire his bow without it, but he took Jesse’s hand and gripped it tight after a moment or two of fumbling. “I hope Max’s directions are good.” Behind him, he heard the faintest of clicking. Monsters.  _ “Go!” _

Jesse swore under his breath, picking up his pace and trying not to think about what was behind them… or shit, where were those damn things coming from? He swallowed hard.  _ 'Focus. Left here, then a right, straight ahead til you run out of wall… Don't let me down Max. Please.' _

Genji heard the final click of the gate, looking up and squinting but unable to see much. He frowned and turned back to the files. Most of them were people he didn't recognize.  _ Specimen 34. Agent 74. Agent 25. Agent-- _ Wait. He flipped back, having seen a familiar face. Max. That was Max! He cleared the desk hastily, scattering papers across the floor. A soft electrical hum started as he woke up some kind of computer, the HUD-style screen lighting up on the glass. His eyes caught on the images. Cameras posted inside the maze revealed Jesse and his brother, nearly running along a corridor. Across maze, slowly and methodically picking their way through was a pack of zombies. A map in the lower corner showed their position relative to Jesse and his brother's. The file in his hand went forgotten as his breathing picked up. No. Nononono! "Hanzo! Jesse! Look out! You need to go left! Left!" He screamed but they didn't even look up and much to Genji's dismay, Jesse turned right.

The record player crooned,  _ “Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you.” _

Hanzo could hear the creatures close now. The feet running along the edges of the walls on either side of them and the clicking as they organized to find the humans in the maze. He was just hoping they wouldn’t find them before they found wherever the end was. The feet got close and he could nearly feel the breath on his face from the creatures when his hand was jerked. Jesse had made a sudden right, then a left, and then--

It was a straight hallway. There was an exit sign illuminated in front of them and the monsters had continued in the direction they’d come from. Max’s directions had them play chicken with zombies and win. _ “The exit sign is designed t’ trick youse. Ignore it, it ain’t your way out.” _

_ “Let me hear you whisper, that you love me too.” _

Jesse wanted to be done already, but he closed eyes and turned right. Away from the sign, away from becoming lunch.

“Jesse!” Hanzo cried and pulled on the hand. “The door! Where are we going? The door is back there--” He didn’t understand what was going on.

"Just trust me." Jesse tightened his grip, heart pounding out of his chest that Hanzo might break away and go back, "He said ignore the sign. It's a trick. Just trust me, baby. Please."

Hanzo hesitated for a second longer before he stopped resisting. If they died, they died together.

_ “Keep the love light glowing, in your eyes so true.” _

At first, none of the directions Jesse were taking made any sense. It was like he was purposely moving away from the way out, except, when Genji traced the path again, it was more sensible than it had first seemed. Away from exits, yes, but ones that the zombies visited. Frequently. When Jesse turned away from the exit sign, it became obvious he wasn't randomly picking these directions. He knew where he was going somehow. It was a good thing he had turned, because the path the zombies took circled them right back around to come down the path toward a would-be escapee.

_ “The door youse’s lookin’ fer isn’t marked. It’s on the side. It’s real easy t’ miss, it’s just a knob. A white door on a white wall. All the other exits are locked.” _

Hanzo heard footsteps behind them as the pack of zombies circled back toward the sign. He didn’t realize they were so close, but they would’ve caught them if they’d headed directly for that glowing exit. They took another right and left, into a dead end.

_ “Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you.” _

Jesse bit his lip and ran his hands over the wall, eyes squeezing shut as he could almost  _ feel _ their time running out. "C'mon, c'mon it's gotta be here. It has to be--" Footsteps and clicking erupted behind them.  _ 'Fuck fuck fuck… C'mon!' _

His hand bumped something and his eyes snapped open, despite the fact that it changed nothing. His hand grasped the knob, twisting it and finding in a little stuck before finally it came loose and turned. Light flooded in, making him hiss but he surged forward anyway. They didn't have time to stop.

Hanzo all but shoved him through the door as it opened. As they stumbled past into a research room--one that appeared to be for sanitization of the test subjects--he shoved the door shut and pressed the lock button behind him on the inside of the knob. The zombies snarled and hissed as they hit the wall seconds later. Their meal had made it out.

Genji slumped against the floor as the zombies hit the wall, away from his brother and Jesse. They were safe… at least for now.

Down below, Jesse's knees went out beneath him as soon as they were safely through the door. His hands were shaking, "Never again. If I don't see another goddamn zombie for the rest of my days it will be too fucking soon."

Hanzo couldn't agree more. He nodded and gripped his chest while he tried to grapple with how much terror he was experiencing. They had survived and yet, it was almost bittersweet. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen next.

With his brother and Jesse safe and sound, Genji could focus again on Max's file. It was unusually thick compared to the others. Really thick. Genji frowned and began flipping through the sections. Some were notes about his 'assignments' as an agent, but the section at the back was what got Genji's attention.  _ Specimen 22.  _ Specimen?! Genji nearly tore the paper in his rush to get that section open. What the fuck did that mean?! What did she do to him?!

He spread the papers out across the desk, chewing on his lip as he read the papers and what notes he could make out. Some was in English, but the notes in the margins, he couldn't even make out what language they were in. Pulling up a nearby chair, he seated himself. Now and again, a noise would have him glancing up now, eyes wide. He couldn't afford to get caught.

\---

The room was dark, when the door shut behind her. At first it didn’t lead anywhere, she was just trapped in that small box with no way out and no light. Brigitte hadn’t realized she was claustrophobic, but in that moment she began to truly understand what claustrophobia was. It was small, dark, hot, and she had no way out. 

Her breathing quickened as she blindly grasped at the walls around her and searched for anything that she could find to open a way out. She refused to be locked in here. She  _ refused _ to die this way. There wasn’t a lot of space for her to move in, but she threw herself at the wall to try and get out.

No dice.

“Help!” Brigitte called. The first time was soft, the second time was louder. She knew that she shouldn’t breathe too fast or she risked using up her available oxygen sooner… but knowing that you weren’t supposed to panic and actually keeping calm were two different beasts. She had to force herself not to start panting inside the hot box. “Help me!” She screamed and beat a fist against the wall. “Please!”

Jack and Ana had gone down the hole. So had Hanzo and Jesse. Genji… well, Genji was probably trapped in a box just like hers. Fareeha was still out there but there was no floor for her, she’d be going into the hole too. There was no one else to save her. 

“Help me…!” She cried softer and felt hot tears sliding over her cheeks. She refused to die here in this box. Brigitte threw her shoulder against the wall again and slumped down as far as it would let her. There was no way out and she couldn’t get the wall she’d entered from to even budge. “Please…” She sucked in valuable oxygen to sob softly and scrub the palms of her hands against her eyes. They’d come all this way only for her to be trapped behind some nondescript wall in an abandoned prison. What a way to die. 

Brigitte didn’t even get warning as the floor slid out from under her. Maybe it had been stuck or perhaps the entire room was designed as a psychological trap, but the floor opened and she found herself falling into a chute destined for god knows where. Rather than falling almost directly down like Ana and Jack had, or taking a right as Jesse and Hanzo did, she instead found herself sliding to the left for a while and then slowly around in circles before she was deposited into an old cell in the basement. 

The air wasn’t fresh, not in the least, but at least it wasn’t the hot and humid air she’d already breathed. Brigitte threw herself onto her feet as fast as she could and ran for the door. She was nauseated, she was dizzy, but she needed to get out of here and find her way back to the rest of the group. Her shield had been attached to her arm so that wasn’t going anywhere, so she braced it in front of her with her forearm and other hand before ramming it against the bars. It didn’t budge. For posterity’s sake, she even tried the latch.    
  
Nothing. She was every bit as trapped as she’d been before and it was only mildly brighter than the pitch black box she’d been in before. Near the door there was some bounce light from a candle near the end of the door but the back corner of her cell was so dark that the shadows seemed to move in the flickering light.

She pressed her face against the bars and looked out further. “Hello?!” Brigitte cried. It was only after she’d called that she thought better of attracting attention to herself. There was a very good chance that whatever found her in here wasn’t a friend. This whole place had to be crawling with zombies and that ‘Banshee’ lady was at the helm. For all she knew, she was slated to become one of them. Brigitte didn’t want to imagine a world where she might be forced to attack her family and hurt them.

Movement in the corner of her eye brought her back to the corner. It seemed darker over there than where she was. She looked out the end of the hall again as she realized that the light at the end wasn’t a candle, it was a small incandescent light bulb that was far past its prime. Those wouldn’t flicker, so why was that shadow moving.

_ ‘He looks like he’s made of black smoke.’ _

The description that Jack had given the group of Gabe’s new state raced to the forefront of her mind and she realized that it was very possible that she was looking at what was left of Gabriel Reyes. She instinctively pressed her back against the brick wall and kept away from him. Hadn’t Jesse said that he attacked him when they first saw him? She was in a small room with whatever Gabe was now and nothing good could come from trying to touch him or get in his space.

“Gabe..?” She asked softly as she pulled her shield up to cover the soft and squishy bits of her that she’d rather not get struck on.

_ 'Gabe?' _

_ Who?  _ He shifted, sliding over the cool concrete floor,  _ Not specimen. Gabe. Who was that? Who was here? Why here? They had to get away! _

_ “Tío _ Gabe?” She tried the affectionate term from her childhood. Her natural Swedish intonations butchered the word, but the affection was there. “I came to save you. I want to go home, don’t you want to go home?”

_ Tío. Why did-- _ His head hurt and he let out a whined groan as he curled up on the floor. The floor was so cool. It felt nice.

Brigitte swallowed heavily. Gabe, or what kind of looked like him for a second or two, had just  _ melted _ into a puddle and she didn’t know what to do. “Gabe, you’re… you don’t look very much like yourself. I’m.. I’m scared,  _ Tío. _ Can you… could you please, maybe, stop?”

_ Stop what? He was just resting--  _ He groaned and picked himself up a little. He looked up at the visitor. Ah yes, what a familiar blob of human. He was  _ so _ glad that his eyes worked.

She swallowed again and looked over at Gabe before hesitantly digging around in her messenger bag and offering him her water bottle. “Are you thirsty? I brought my bottle. You can drink it all, it’s ok. I’ll get more after we’re out of here.”

"Water?" He rasped out, and then groaned and fell back down to roll on his side. How would he drink it?

“Y-Yeah, It’s water, Uncle Gabe.” Brigitte mumbled as she popped the top and offered it to him. As she did, some of it splashed out onto the wispy fog. “Oh-- I’m so sorry-- I’m--”

Gabe sighed contentedly, and reached up toward the… vague human shape. "Please."

Brigitte hesitated for a second before she realized that the spilled water was vanishing from beneath the cloud of black smoke. She reached out and poured the water on him in short bursts, splashing it in the cloud until she had none left. “Is that helping? I-- We can get you more once we get out. Gabe?”

The puddle shifted and then slid up into a more solid human form. He wasn't sure who that human shape was but he liked her. It hurt to sit up. He groaned and slid back down where it was cool, and hurt less.

“Gabe…?” Brigitte chewed on her lower lip before reaching into her bag. Gabe had always liked her mother’s biscuits and she had one left. It was a little stale. It didn’t have any jam like he liked… but she gently placed it near the smoke and nudged it inside with her foot like the water had done. He probably needed to… consume something.

Something poked him in the cheek, and then was gone. Was that… a biscuit? His stomach churned for a second.  _ Hungry.  _ He paused. Was there someone else here?  _ We're hungry. _ He scooted back suddenly, "Who's there?!"

Brigitte looked around frantically as she searched for whoever he was talking to. When she found no one else, she swallowed harshly. “It’s just me,  _ Tío. _ It’s just me, Brigitte. There’s nobody else here.”

Brigitte… Brigitte didn't sound like the other woman. The hungry one. Wait, why was Brigitte here?! He sat up suddenly and then stood, "You can't be here. You can't. You need to leave--" He grimaced and then fell back to his knees. It hurt so much to stand.

“I can’t leave. I’m stuck in here.” Brigitte reached out and shook the bars of the cell and sighed. “I have another biscuit.” She pulled her bag into her lap and started digging around. This one was more stale, but still edible. “Do you want it?”

"Please."

She offered it out between two fingers slowly. This time she actually held onto it, rather than pushing it to him with her foot, so he could take it from her.

He could see what looked like her arm but he couldn't tell. He held out his hand anyway.

Brigitte placed it on his palm and watched in abstract horror as it sat there for mere moments and then smoke rose from his hand to swarm over the biscuit. It was gone in a breath. Suddenly, she wished she had more food and water for him. “I don’t have anything else, I’m sorry.”

Gabe stared at his hand. He'd felt the biscuit for a second and then it was just… gone. He did feel somewhat better though. Now he was just tired. He slipped back down to the floor. "It's… okay." He mumbled groggily, "Be careful… please. She can't find you… She can't..."

“Don’t worry,” Brigitte was exhausted too. The morning and all this excitement made her slump against the wall with a yawn as she reached out to hesitantly offer him a hand. Uncle Gabe had held her hand when she was little to walk around and explore the base. He did it with Thyr now. “Jack’s coming. He’ll find us.”

Gabe lifted his head at the mention of Jack. Jackie was coming. He smiled and then noticed the hand and reached out for it. If he was holding onto her, Moira couldn't take her away. He shuffled closer to wrap his hand around her wrist.

“I love you, Uncle Gabe. Don’t worry… don’t worry...” She mumbled sleepily and shifted around to get comfortable against the wall. “Jack’s coming. We’re gonna be ok. Don’t worry...”

Gabe shuffled a little closer. Moira couldn't find her. She couldn't. He wouldn't let her. “I love you too,  _ Mija.” _

\---

The contents of the folder were… grim at best and beyond sickening at worse. His jaw clenched as he kept reading. Notes of how well Max had ‘outperformed’ other subjects despite his disabilities. What was _that_ supposed to mean?! He chewed on the inside of his cheek. There were very few places in the file where whoever wrote it spoke candidly, but there were places written in plain English. One such entry was the first that Max had in his file. 

_ ‘Acquired the specimen from a traveling merchant. The man proclaimed that a woman of my caliber would be better suited to caring for his son than he. The price was low, I accepted. I’m always in need of more specimens. I discovered after an examination that the son was to some degree blind, though not as blind as he often pretended, and nearly entirely deaf without the transmitter portion of his cochlear implants. Said transmitters had been removed at some time during his travel into the South. It is unknown if this was an intentional move made by his father, or if they were simply lost.’ _

Max’s father  _ sold him?! _ What kind of bullshit-- Genji took a deep breath. He hoped Max’s father got eaten slowly by zombies. Very slowly. Maybe a piece at a time for good measure

_ ‘Specimen 22 is a joy to have around. He has already killed three guards for startling him with a handmade shank.’ _

Now  _ that  _ certainly sounded like Max. The idea of it gave Genji a little chuckle. He found himself humming along subconsciously to the music playing in the background.

_ ‘I provided him with new set of transmitters and decided to see how well he ran the maze. To my great surprise, he has outperformed the other subjects.’ _

Suddenly, Genji understood how Jesse might have learned the way through the maze. Max probably gave him directions and with Jesse’s memory… but why only Jesse? Why Jesse at all? Those two never got along.

_ The perfluorocarbon test proved to be more than even he could manage, however. He was completely non verbal for a week after, however he still performed well against other subjects in the maze during this time. I’ve selected him for resistance training. If he handles himself under duress well, I may instate him.’ _

Perfluorocarbon? What in the world was--? What did she do that made Max that scared? He chewed on his lip and kept reading, suddenly worried what he might find further down. If resistance training was what he  _ thought  _ it was, he wasn’t sure he  _ wanted _ to read those notes.

_ ‘Specimen 22 has a high pain threshold--’ _

He what?! His hands tightened on the paper in them, teeth gritting as he skimmed the rest. This woman, this… 'Banshee' had better hope that he never found her. Noises no longer startled him, he almost wished someone would walk in so he could do to them what she did to Max. Then again, he'd probably lose his cool and just kill them outright. He needed Hanzo. Hanzo could help him.

He tucked the file under his arm. He'd need it later to give Hanzo… direction on what he was asking. He glanced around the observation deck for anything else of note, but found nothing amidst the scattered paperwork. With a frown, he headed for the door. His anger was fading quickly as he began to realize that even though he had a file that brought him a fraction closer to understanding Max--and by proxy, causing his stomach to summon his heart to come party with it--that there was no guarantee that any of them were getting out of here. Not only that, this file wasn’t a way to help him show Max that he was sorry. Hell, Max would probably shank him on principle of  _ possessing  _ the damn thing, much less having read it.

He wandered into the hall, glancing back and forth before wandering the opposite direction that he’d come from originally. There wasn’t much down the hall, a few locked doors and the occasional trash can, leftover from when this was a prison and never removed, likely for practical reasons. He tried every door, just in case, accidentally popping his head in on a couple guards and then quickly closing the door. With any luck, they hadn’t seen him.

No luck. Footsteps came running for the door, and Genji quickly set the file down and drew his katana. An idea struck him just as the footsteps reached the door and it was yanked open. He stuck the katana out as the first guard charged, not realizing there was a blade across the span of the door. Unlike a traditional clothesline, where one would nearly do a flip over whatever they had collided with, this time, the second guard got to see a fantastic demonstration of Newton’s first law… and how long zombies could keep running without a head. It was a surprisingly long time and probably had something to do with the nanites.

He didn’t really have time to consider it much further because the second guard, having seen his buddy decapitate himself on the katana in the door, promptly decided to stick his gun around the corner where he assumed Genji was.

In a half-panic, Genji turned his blade downward and slashed down before the guard could get a shot off. Both hand and gun dropped to the floor uselessly, and only moments later, once the guard seemed to have processed what just happened, screams of pain erupted from the doorway. Genji rounded it, slicing through his neck so that he didn’t alert everyone in the building that there was something very wrong.

Wiping the blood off his katana on the less bloodstained of the two corpses, Genji glanced around before grabbing the file and running down the hall. Nothing happened. Nothing to see here. Just two dead bros being dead. Nothing serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm moving, I'm bad at this, my cat died. It's been a long freaking week.


	26. Chapter 26

Genji was hesitant to open any other doors, but he needed to see what he could find and if he ran into any other guards he could just kill them outright before they drew any more attention. More footsteps suddenly had him realizing that maybe the halls weren’t the best way to explore this place. 

He scrambled up a wall, bumping a tile aside the first time and then repeated the motion to get up into the space above the ceiling. It was tight, but thankfully unlike his brother, he was lighter and didn’t fall through immediately as he quickly crept across the supports. They shook and wobbled and creaked in a way that made him move just a bit more carefully, but they were holding. Sort of. The last one bent and kinda stayed that way, but who looked up anyway? Wait. Now the locked doors weren’t a problem!

...Unfortunately, directions were. Everything looked the same from up here, minus the lights and wires and air ducts, of course. Every now and again, he’d pop up a tile and peek into the room, and then move on if there was nothing of interest. Most of them were empty anyway. After about the third tile, he stumbled upon one that looked vaguely useful. It was lined with lockers and probably once held the prison guards personal belongings for safe keeping while at work. There was what appeared to be a repurposed breakroom off to one side, filled with chemistry equipment. The lockers were labeled, though most seemed to be for ‘Specimens’. However, one in particular had an Agent’s name and looked to have been relabeled. Agent 12.

Genji looked at the door and then squinted at the locks on the lockers. His hand closed around his wakizashi. Hanzo would kill him if he knew that he was about to use it to get these lockers open. He glanced at the door again and then measured up his strike before clipping the lock off cleanly.

Inside was a semi-opaque container of strange blue substance and a small, nondescript white box. On the bottle was just a scribbled  _ ‘Cataracts’  _ label. The file had mentioned that she had what she would need to help Max, even if that wasn’t the word  _ she _ used, and had never intended to give that stuff to him. Well, it was definitely going to Max now. He considered the other lockers. What interesting things was she keeping in-- A key scraped at the lock, dashing those thoughts and sending him scurrying back up into the ceiling tiles.

“Ma’am, we need t’ go.” A male voice spoke from below as the door opened.

“I expect you have a good reason for this, Agent 65?” The same voice that had saved Jesse’s leg and life was now below talking to a guard.

“‘Course, Ma’am. We have intruders.”

“And the maze hasn’t gotten to them?” She noticed the locker that had been busted open and scoffed. “No, it wouldn’t if Agent 12 has given them the way through. His friends must be here.”

“I’ve sent someone to handle them.”

“Don’t bother, I have what I want. Just get them out of my facility.”

“I--” The guard stammered, “Are you sure?”

_ “Yes, _ Eustace. I am always certain. Get them to leave or kill them. I have plenty of specimens.”

Genji's eyes widened and for a moment, his hand grasped the hilt of his katana. She was right there. If he dropped down, he could call the-- His hand left the hilt, and he used it instead to balance himself better. He was perched on the wall behind the lockers, between the two rooms so that he wouldn't bend something, or worse, fall through. If he got in a fight, he might break Max’s stuff, and that would be worse than never finding them at all. Biting his lip, he breathed a quiet sigh. He’d have to get her another time. He balanced carefully and moved along the outside of the room, hoping they wouldn't notice him.

One of the tile supports creaked as he made it to the hall, and he held his breath to see if they noticed, all the while moving away from it along a wall.

The sound of Eustace pulling his pistol was accented by the click of his safety going off, but he didn’t fire.  _ “Ma’am?” _ Was soft and confused.

Then one of the tiles raised and for a moment there was nothing… but then a huge purple orb appeared inside the space and the tile was returned while it bounced around inside. 

Genji stared at the thing for only a moment, feeling drained and tired suddenly… He needed to go. He shoved a tile to the hallway aside and dropped through, landing harder than normal. He needed to go now, before they realized he was just outside. He took off running, having what he needed. Now he needed to find the others. He needed-- shit which direction did he come from?!

He frantically glanced back and forth, hoping that they would think he just died up there or something and not actually confirm it. No one seemed to come after him but he was still lost. Which way would lead him out? He bit his lip. What should he do?!

As they walked out of the decontamination room, Hanzo felt something tugging on the back of his mind. That was the spot that the dragons--and their instincts--usually sat in. For the most part, they were quiet. Sometimes they would kick him in the ass to do something here or there but they very rarely tried to get his attention like this. “Jesse, let’s wait here for a moment.”

Wait here-- What? Jesse turned his head, mouth hung open for a moment. He looked up at their surroundings and then back at Hanzo, raising an eyebrow.

Hanzo just raised a hand in answer. He knew what he was asking was ridiculous but he had a very good reason for it. “Genji is lost.” That was all he gave as a way of explanation before pulling the sleeve on his left arm up and out of his way. He traced one of the dragons and then made a motion as if tossing it into the hall in front of him...

And then a  _ dragon _ materialized from nothing then dematerialized into shimmering blue magic and shot off down the hall and up the stairs leaving a glowing trail back to them. 

Jesse's other eyebrow joined its sibling, and together they scurried off to go meet up with his hairline.

Genji was slowly succumbing to the panic, having run off down the hallway and finding himself at a intersection of hallways. Nothing looked familiar and-- something tugged at him and then a green shimmering trail joined the blue one that shot past. Hanzo! He nearly tripped over his feet in his haste to follow the trail.

“Did you see that?” Banshee’s voice came from the end of the hall behind him. “What was that? Eustace, follow it!” 

“Ma’am, it’s disappearing. I don’t know where it--”   
  
“Run  _ faster, _ plebeian.”

Genji dashed forward, covering more ground than he could have by running alone and kept going. He knew the trail would disappear behind him, so all he had to do was move faster than Eustace. Couldn’t be  _ that  _ hard.

The footsteps behind him said otherwise. Genji hazarded a glance behind him, regretted it and tried to run faster. Why was this old man so fast? What did he eat this morning, a entire bottle of ‘roids with his Wheaties?

The blue shimmering portion of the path vanished beneath his feet just in time for a monsterous roaring of a dragon big enough to fill the entire hall erupted right behind. Udon must have decided that this man ran too fast for his liking and had blocked the entire hallway off so Genji could make his escape.

Genji breathed a sigh of relief at the startled yelp behind him, cutting down a side hallway behind his own dragon. He nearly slid down the bannister of the stairwell, thought better of it due to all of the important things he was holding, and instead just took them two stairs at a time down to a hallway. His dragon dissipated at the door, fading back out of existence as he yanked the it open to see Hanzo and Jesse, safe and sound. Jesse had postured up with his hand on his pistol.

The confused and concerned look on Jesse’s face melted with a “Huh,” and honestly, Genji had never been so happy to see that dumb cowboy in his life.

“He’s fighting a ‘monster’, huh?” Hanzo questioned as he gestured up to the hall. “That’s all he told me.”

“I mean, ‘mad scientist’ is usually a staple in monster films.” Genji retorted, hurrying to get over to Jesse, who thankfully, always had that leather messenger bag at his side. “Please hold these? I don’t want to lose anything.”

Jesse sighed, then shook his head with a smile, “Sure thing. Whatcha got there?”

“Some stuff...”

Hanzo didn’t even bother raising an eyebrow, he just pinned his little brother with a hard look as the blue sparkles raced back down the hall to him.

“...for Max.” Genji mumbled quietly under his breath.

He pulled his sleeve down without breaking the eye contact.

“It’s the stuff she promised him, okay?! I was making sure he got it.”

“I see.” Hanzo mused before looking around at where they were. “It’s only a shame that we can’t use Soba to find the others. I need to get Jesse a dragon.”

“I mean, all you have to do is say dinner,” Genji grinned, “It’s faster.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow, “You’re lucky I  _ like you _ , ya little shithead...”

“Both of you, behave.” Hanzo rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “We need to find the others and leave.”

Jesse squinted at Genji and then tucked Max’s belongings, and the file that he wasn’t quite sure why Genji was carrying around, into his bag. “So how does the dragon thing work? I don’t think there’s anyone left that can really do tattoos like that… or enough ink for that matter.”

Genji snorted and devolved into giggles almost immediately, leaving Jesse even more confused than before.

“It’ll be fine,” Hanzo chuckled as they began to walk around. The hardest part was trying to decide where to go.

Jesse knew where  _ not  _ to go, and finally just picked a direction away from the stairs and decontamination room. The others had to be somewhere nearby. Banshee must had been pretty damn irked about Genji stealing her shit though, cause the halls suddenly seemed to burst into chaos. Guards erupted from side halls and doors that Jesse hadn’t even noticed existed, forcing them into what felt like an old-school video game’s random encounter system. All they needed was someone to play a fight theme or something.

“What did you do?” Hanzo hissed at Genji while they worked their way through the guards. This arrow was already covered in blood and he used it to down another guard.

"I just grabbed the stuff that was meant for Max!" Genji cried as he sliced through another guard that Jesse had stunned with a well-placed right hook.

“You don’t think she might  _ want _ that?” Hanzo retorted and nudged his brother over so he could fire from over his shoulder.

"Well, sucks to suck! Max needs it!"

"Try telling that to  _ her." _ Jesse groaned as he pulled Peacekeeper and fired at the door that had just opened down the hall, all while keeping his eyes on Genji.

Hanzo opened his mouth to yell at them both when he stopped and turned his head. He stopped firing at the enemy as he pressed his ear to a wall before pulling an arrow from his back and firing it into the wall. Sure enough, the outline of Ana and Fareeha appeared not far on the other side. “There! We need to go there.”

Jesse just stopped asking how and where Hanzo got all these handy little tricks and accepted they came with the ‘Deluxe Ninja Package’.

Hanzo took his bow and quickly fired six arrows into the group in front of them before taking the last person in their way by the neck and twisted it with his bow. “Let’s go!”

Jesse’s jaw dropped a little, brows raising.

“You’re drooling.” Genji snorted as he tapped Jesse’s chin with the sheath of his katana.

“Get the fuck out, ya nuisance.”

Hanzo skidded around the corner ahead of them and shot another guard in the face point blank as he did so. The only thing that slowed him down was retrieving the arrow from his face before he was going down stairs two at a time in the direction Ana and Fareeha had been in.

Jesse followed after him, but not without a low whistle. No one had any right to look that good killing people.

He carved a path through the guards to the door where Ana and Fareeha could now be heard yelling at each other inside.

A figure walked out from beside the door and it was only by the grace of his quick thinking that Hanzo didn’t shoot her in the face. “Muriel!”   
  
She smiled tightly and waved at him. The coin he’d given her before was hanging around her neck.   
  
“Why are you here?”   
  
Muriel pointed to them. She wanted to help them.

“Why aren’t you talking…?” He asked hesitantly.

She twisted her lips into a frown before raising her hands to peel back the blue lips. Her jaw had been wired shut. 

Jesse wasn’t far behind, skidding to a stop beside his boyfriend. He breathed a sigh of relief to see Muriel. They needed a friendly face. "Good to see ya, ma'am. Sorry it's under…" he gestured, "Unfortunate circumstances."

Muriel nodded at him and clapped Jesse on the shoulder before she pulled the ring of keys that had been on Eustace’s belt when they were in the town out of her pocket. It took her a few tries before she got the door to the vat room open and let them in.

“Thank you, Muriel.” Hanzo spoke reverently to the older woman and bowed deeply to her as they headed inside. They wouldn’t have been able to get in without her help.

“Hanzo!” Ana cried as she saw him. “Genji! Climb up there and get to the controls!” She commanded and pointed up to where the lid opening lever was clearly marked. “Jack is inside! He’s going to drown!”

Genji was a bit quicker to react, scrambling up to where Ana had pointed to and yanked down on it.

The lid of the vat began to raise up, allowing Ana to reach inside. It was deep, deep enough that a six foot tall man had been treading water to swim inside, and she barely got the word off before Hanzo had dropped his quiver and bow to dive in and drag Jack out.

Hanzo hadn't expected Jack to be awake--or even alive--when he dove in there. It took extra help from Fareeha and Ana to get them both out of the vat. “Jack?”

The soldier landed on his knees on the grating and began to vomit up the yellow substance. Hanzo hesitantly hovered nearby, but didn't know what to do.

“How did you survive?” Ana asked in awe. Last she checked, SEP hadn't turned them into fish.

“The stuff. You can breathe it.” Jack groaned between coughing fits. “It feels like drowning.”

“It must be a perfluorocarbon… or at least something like it.” Hanzo mused. The clan had used it.

"Perfluorocarbon?" Genji squawked as he landed next to Hanzo. So it was a breathable liquid? How did that work?

_ “Hai.” _ Hanzo explained and watched patiently as Jack coughed up mouthfuls of the stuff. “It’s used in medicine sometimes, but it’s also a highly effective torture method. People aren’t meant to drown for hours at a time.”

“Yeah, no--” Jack groaned as his dinner started coming up with the golden sludge. “No shit, kid. Ten minutes was more than I wanted.”

Genji grit his teeth and looked away. Even his dragon was seething, making his blood boil just below the surface. He was gritting his teeth hard enough that it hurt but he really didn’t give a shit. He should have killed her when he had the chance. He should have-- He should have done a lot of things but he didn’t. He was in this mess because he should have done things and didn’t. Like shut his damn mouth for five seconds.

“Let us find Gabriel and Brigitte.” Hanzo suggested once Jack had stood up again. Jack's entire head was glowing from being submerged for so long, he almost looked blond.

Muriel waved a hand and gestured to the nearby doors that would take them to the cell block. She knew where Gabe was.

Genji moved quickly, still seething and angry. The faster they got Gabriel and Brigitte and got out, the better his chances of not doing something completely stupid, like hunting down a certain red-haired woman that needed killing years ago.

After almost everyone was through the door, Jess paused by Muriel and watched the others go inside. After a moment, he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "I'm sorry I wasn't truthful with ya, ma'am. World's real unfriendly," He paused, considering all that had happened, "but I think you already know that."

She smiled wide enough to flash the silver wiring beneath her lips and laughed through her teeth before reaching out to cup his cheek. Muriel shrugged and stroked the beard with a fond smile. It was ok, she understood. She put her other hand on his chest and pat a couple of times just over his heart before letting go.

He held out his arms with a smile. Muriel laughed again behind her forced grin and accepted the hug to squeeze him tightly. Jesse let out a wheezy little laugh, mostly because Muriel was doing her damnedest to squeeze the life out of him, but soon returned the gesture, locking his hands behind her back and then nearly picking her up.

She rubbed his back and yelped through her nose when Jesse picked her up, but didn’t fight it. There weren’t many men tall enough to pick her up.

Jesse set her down and gave her another smile. "I wanna thank you again. I know why you did what you did, but it doesn't make me any less grateful." The smile faded a little, "Come with us. Maybe we can help you… or at least get ya away from this hell."

Muriel’s own smile slipped from her face and she stopped him long enough to dig around in her bag for a pair of wire cutters. She offered them to Jesse and gestured to her face.

He opened his mouth and then looked at them for a minute before taking a deep breath. "I'll try to be gentle, I promise." He just hoped he didn't lose his lunch in the process. 

She reached out and stroked his cheek one more time to comfort him. If she could have done it herself, she would have. Instead she just pulled her lips back so he could reach the wires passing over her teeth.

He clipped as gently as he could, grimacing whenever he clipped another one. His heart had settled somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach and seemed unlikely to move any time soon.

He sat back after he'd gotten all the ones he could see, "How's that?"

“Mm.” She smiled as best as she could without getting her lips on the sharp wires inside before inhaling sharply through her nose and pulling her jaw down with both hands. She let out a harsh cry and tears streaked down her face but she huffed and put a hand out for the clippers from him.

Jesse turned his head away with a grimace. He stared at the floor at his feet until she held her hand out. He returned them to her, and then returned his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry ma'am. I am."

“I’s no’ ‘our faul’.” Her voice had returned as she clipped the wires and finally let the cutters fall to the ground. She couldn’t leave the wires in and was now trying to wiggle them loose. “I ‘id i’ ‘o mysel’.”

Jesse shook his head, "Naw, ain't nothin' you did. This is on  _ her _ . Ain't no damn excuse for none of this."

The wires started to fall to the ground as Muriel gained more ability to speak. “I let you go.” She shrugged. “It was the best mistake I ever made.” She chuckled and finished wiggling the wires free. Something about the state she existed in kept her from bleeding or being in intense pain. She was hurting, but not like he would’ve been hurting. 

Jesse shook his head. His jaw hurt just looking at her but he'd helped her… even if only a little. "That ain't how it should be. Everything's all backwards when the world reward the bad folks for doin' bad and punishes the good." He wrapped her up in another hug, "Please come with us. Let us get you out of here."

“Awh, now,” Muriel pet his hair gently and gave Jesse a squeeze, “I can’t do that, baby. I’d like to, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t.” Muriel took the ring of keys she’d lifted off Eustace and dropped them into Jesse’s bag. “Eustace is gonna figure out we’re down here shortly ‘n I’mma make sure you get out of here in one piece, darlin’.”

"Nuh uh." Jesse pulled Peacekeeper, "Right through the that door, and we'll come out together. I left once and this happened, I ain't leavin' again."

Muriel walked with him toward the door. She knew Eustace would be there any moment and she reached into her own bag to retrieve a small framed photo. It was her, her son--though he couldn’t have been older than three or four--and Eustace sitting on the porch of the little smokehouse she’d walked out of to meet him the first time. “I need you to take this with you. There’s nothin’ left of David… but I want the world to know--” She stopped and inhaled sharply as she blinked away tears, “I want the world to know he was a  _ good _ boy. He never did nobody no wrong. He liked t’ play guitar ‘n he was good at it. ‘N… ‘n.. He was a good boy. David Thompson. Remember that name. David ‘n Muriel Thompson. Ok?” 

She had impeccable timing too because Eustace had just come through the upper door on the catwalk above the vats. “Promise me.  _ Promise.” _

Jesse grit his teeth, working his jaw for a second, "You're coming with us and you can tell 'em yourself ma'am."

Hanzo came out of the door behind them just as Muriel pushed Jesse toward it by the shoulders. “I get the feelin’,” She smiled and it caused her tears to roll to her chin, “That you’re better at tellin’ stories than I am.”

“We found them.” Hanzo whispered as he watched the two of them in confusion. He recognized the 200 yen coin hanging around her neck that he’d given her in the town before.    
  
“Hanzo, you take Jesse now and you keep him safe.” Muriel ducked as a bullet richochet’d off the metal door beside them. “Now! Y’hear me? Take him away! I’ll handle Eustace.”   
  
"Don't you--" Jesse grunted as he lined up a shot up at the catwalk. "I'm not leavin'!" 

“Take him away, Hanzo! Do it now!” Muriel pushed Jesse and Hanzo grit his teeth. He had to make the decision and in that moment, he chose to listen to his elder and protect Jesse from himself.

_ “Hai, Okaa-sama.” _ Hanzo pulled Jesse through the door even as Muriel pushed and shut it behind them. She locked herself inside and smiled through the glass pane at Jesse. They couldn’t hear her, but they could see her as she took the silver key she’d used to open the door and set it on the lip of the window.    
  
Muriel mouthed to them,  _ ‘David Thompson’  _ before she turned and met Eustace in a fire fight.

"No, goddammit! Let me out!" Jesse slammed a fist against the door, pounding on it a couple times. "Muriel! God damn it, let me-- I coulda-- Hanzo I coulda helped her."

Hanzo heard the gunshots from the other side of the door. Two separate calibers firing until there was only one and it kept firing. A solid thump came from the other side of the door and he squat down to hold his ears. Anything to block out the sound. 

The last thing Muriel did was reach up to take the key off the frame, leaving bloody fingerprints on the window, and swallow it so Eustace couldn’t get in.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like our stuff and ever want to hang out with the authors, we do have a discord that you can join! 
> 
> https://discord.gg/8PunzJk
> 
> See you there ;D


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